Child of the Moon
by Dannrose
Summary: For most of his life Sokka has kept a dangerous secret hidden from his tribe, including Katara. When they both find Aang and join him upon his journey as Avatar to end the war this secret goes with him. What is his 'curse' and is it really a curse at all? These questions and more may be answered as they travel to save the world.
1. Prologue

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to the first chapter of my first story for Avatar: The Last Airbender. This will be an AU of the series though I cannot say right now exactly how different individual events will become, it largely follows Sokka so any scenes he's not in or I don't actually cover will happen as they did in the show. I won't be writing about every single individual episode as I feel that would become long and boring so I will be skipping along the timeline, as before any episode I don't specifically write about will happen exactly as it did in the series unless I mention otherwise. I hope you all enjoy this Sokka-centric story and the AU I'm creating.**_

 _ **I do not own any aspect of Avatar: The Last Airbender.**_

* * *

 **Prologue**

The moon was always beautiful when it was full.

It hung large and white in the vast sky, its vast light dominating over the countless pinpricks that were the stars. In the clear, frozen air every crack and crater on its ancient surface was visible as it stood sentinel in the night sky as it always had done.

The moon had always been revered by the Water Tribes, Gran-Gran had said many times that it was the reason the Water Tribe even existed at all and many of the elders echoed her sentiments. In all honesty Sokka had little belief in the mystical teachings of his elders, as the only teenage boy left in his village and the only viable fighter he was far more focused upon the defence of his home. He'd wanted to go with his father and the other men to take part in the war but he'd been left with the task of protecting the tribe, as such he'd taken his task seriously and had devoted himself to it leaving little thought to other matters.

However the moon had always touched something within him, something that he kept buried from all others.

His dad knew about it of course, he'd been there on that fateful hunting trip and had seen it first-hand when Sokka first discovered he had something more, just like his sister. Unlike Katara though his ability wasn't a gift but rather a curse and one he had to keep hidden. He suspected that Gran-Gran knew but she'd never spoken about it to him and no one else had ever been told so it remained secret.

In a way that was partly why he was so disparaging of his sister's waterbending, calling it 'magic water'. She could practise her gift and use it within the village and people would smile upon seeing their tribe's only waterbender practising despite not having a master to teach her, if Sokka tried using his ability he knew that those people, his family, would see him as the monster that lurked within him forcing him to hide it.

Katara could use her gift openly but he had to hide his curse.

So he worked at being a warrior, a hunter, everything a true Water Tribe man should be and worthy of the task his father had entrusted him with. Even before all the men left for war Sokka had endeavoured in the ways of a warrior and huntsman, he knew at least the basics of all the traditional Water Tribe weapons, he knew how to sail a Water Tribe ship, basic tactics, hunting techniques and the traditions they followed before and after a hunt, he even knew how to create snow defences and had worked to erect them around their village to protect against the Fire Nation. All in all he was an excellent example of a young Water Tribe boy but his curse remained and there were times it had to show itself.

Now was one such time.

He'd noticed the signs, his temper shortening, the occasional growl and the increased force with which he did things and he'd packed the necessary supplies and headed out away from the village on an overnight 'hunting trip'. It had been a bit of a chore stopping Katara from coming with him, she'd somehow decided that he needed constant supervision when away from the village and would always try to tag along with him. He sort of understood (she was concerned about something happening to him and he'd be lying if he said he didn't have similar concerns whenever she went away alone) but it was annoying when she was being stubborn about it and he couldn't tell her exactly why he was heading off by himself. It took the timely intervention of Gran-Gran to finally convince Katara to not go adding to his certainty that his grandmother knew the truth (she always seemed to know when Sokka was taking these trips and stopped anyone joining him). With the promise of being back by the afternoon of the next day he set off into the icy hunting grounds eager to be far from the village by the time the moon rose.

This led to where he was now, standing in nothing but his smalls staring up at the full moon.

Being basically naked in such freezing temperatures would mean death for most people but Sokka had long since discovered that he didn't feel the cold very easily and he knew that it would be bothering him even less soon. That and he had found that whenever he did this his clothes would be destroyed unless he took them off and going back to the village practically starkers would be difficult to explain away.

He could feel the full moon somehow strengthen him and his burden was always more…eased whenever it graced the sky, Katara had mentioned that her bending appeared stronger in a full moon and he wondered if it gave her strength like it did for him. Over the years he'd come to know that if he let his curse out during a full moon then it seemed to settle for a while letting him continue with his life, in the beginning he'd tried to suppress it entirely but that had caused it to seemingly revolt and become more ferocious until he'd come out here and let it out allowing it to run wild for several days. His father had found him and said he'd seen much of what happened and then suggested that it would be better to let it loose regularly whenever it became too restless, that had led to these trips away from the village that Sokka continued to take even after his father went to war and no longer went with him. The trips had been occasional and always during a full moon (though not every single full moon as that would look suspicious) but recently the need for these trips had become more regular, slowly getting to happening each month making him worry that his curse may be gradually consuming him.

Pushing these thoughts aside Sokka returned his focus to the moon bathing in its beautiful light, the beast inside had begun stirring in anticipation as if it knew it was about to be let out and Sokka reluctantly let it emerge.

Despite what people would think if they ever saw it happen it didn't actually hurt, instead he felt overwhelmed by primal sensations that had long since become familiar to him and there was a rush he couldn't deny he enjoyed. As the beast came forward its presence began to manifest physically upon Sokka's body. His muscles bulged and strengthened, becoming far more powerful than those of a man. His body stretched and reshaped to accommodate them, becoming taller and broader with powerful legs and arms. His teeth grew sharper and sturdier as his nose and mouth began to reshape into one snout, his ears became pointed and bigger, sharpening his hearing to beyond that of his human self. Eyes grew in size, becoming accustomed to the darkness and granting him better night vision as hair started to sprout and grow over his body merging and growing into a thick fur pelt. Nails toughened and grew into lethal claws upon hands that had become far larger than they'd once been. Similar claws grew upon powerful feet that were now more like paws and as the fur pelt finally stopped growing and the body settled into its new form the beast lifted its snout to the moon and gave a mighty, chilling howl. The creature dropped to all fours and bounded off across the wastes with a grace you would feel that such a combination of man and beast should not have.

Under the pure light of the moon a werewolf began to hunt.

* * *

 _ **PS-And so Sokka is now a werewolf. As I go I will build up exactly how werewolves fit into this verse and what the 'rules' about them are so to speak (or write). I hope you enjoyed this opening chapter and I'll try to update soon.**_


	2. First Night

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to chapter two. This one begins near the end of episode two and as I've already said everything not written down here happened exactly as it did in the series. Thank you those who have reviewed and shown their support of this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **First Night**

It had been a wild couple of days for Sokka.

First he and Katara had found a kid frozen in ice, then they discovered that said kid was accompanied by a massive sky bison, then the kid turned out to be an airbender, then some of the Fire Nation turned up and they found out the kid was the Avatar, after that they found themselves on the sky bison that could actually fly going off to rescue the kid with the encouragement of Gran-Gran, a rescue happened and now they were making their escape on the back of the previous flying bison with a childlike Avatar who'd just single-handedly taken on a whole Fire Nation ship.

It had all been very weird.

That being said he couldn't deny that he was used to weird, he'd been weird most of his life and at least airbending and the Avatar was weirdness that was supposed to exist in the world. In all honesty that annoyed him because like with Katara being the only Southern waterbender, everyone admired Aang for his gifts which he could show off anytime he wanted.

It didn't help that the beast inside him was not happy after being beaten so easily by that Fire Nation teen and Sokka could feel it growling with displeasure inside him. His human self was equally disgruntled at the humiliation and he was slightly worried about the two of them actually agreeing in case it meant his curse was encroaching upon him more. It was a constant fear of his that one day he would lose himself to the beast, that he would turn on those he cared for and destroy them. It was with him always and it had only become more prevalent in the two years his father had been gone.

A discussion between Katara and Aang pulled him from his thoughts and he listened to their words.

"But Aang, the world's been waiting for the Avatar to return and finally put an end to this war."

That was of course Katara and Aang's answer was filled with the boy's concern and sadness, "And how am I going to do that?"

"According to legend, you need to first master water, then earth, then fire, right?"

The kid was still looking down morosely as he answered, "That's what the monks told me."

"Well, if we go to the North Pole you can master waterbending."

Aang turned to face her, visibly brighter and happier, "We could learn it together!"

Katara turned to Sokka clearly warming to her plan, "And Sokka, I'm sure you'll get to knock some firebender heads along the way."

He had to admit that sounded very appealing, the beast inside seemed very keen to do some head knocking and his human self was looking forward to maybe finally taking a more active part in the war. On top of that actually travelling across the world meant there was a chance he could finally see his dad again and he wanted that so badly. However that meant his curse could become far more problematic, he could no longer vanish into the icy wastes for a night to let the beast out and they couldn't always guarantee they'd be in a suitably isolated place whenever the need to do so arose. They might find out what he carried especially since it was getting restless again and he'd have to let it out soon, preferably tonight under the full moon.

Then he remembered what Gran-Gran had said to them as they left to rescue Aang, she believed they were meant to take this journey but more importantly he remembered what she'd whispered in his ear as she'd hugged him goodbye.

 _You may find the answers out there_.

He knew she meant his curse, the beast inside him, maybe somewhere in the world he could find out what it actually was and a way to get rid of it. He now had a chance to find the truth behind his burden.

He made his decision and answered dreamily still half in his hopeful thoughts of maybe being normal, "I'd like that. I'd really like that."

The beast growled in agreement as Katara spoke confidently, "Then we're in this together."

Aang pulled out a scroll from somewhere and jumped up to join them in the saddle excitedly, "All right, but before I learn waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to…"

From there the kid excitedly listed all these places with animals like hog-monkeys and giant koi fish which he wanted to ride and Sokka found himself in the middle of an internal argument, his human self wanted to make the kid focus on their goal rather than dive off after all these distractions but the beast wanted to charge off to all these places as well. Sokka tried to keep it quiet but the beast continued to grumble and growl discontentedly against him.

Hog-monkeys sounded tasty.

* * *

He'd got lucky all things considered.

Due to timings and the Fire Nation capturing Aang they actually couldn't get to the Southern Air Temple without stopping for the night. What made that even better was the fact that they stopped over on a fairly large piece of land and Sokka had made an excuse, taken the chance to slip away into the forest behind their camp and put a good deal of distance between himself and the other two.

By the time the full moon was rising he judged himself a safe distance away and he hoped that Aang and Katara wouldn't come out this way looking for him. Taking off everything but his smalls he stowed his cloths away in a safe spot to pick up later and then stared upwards to gaze upon the moon.

It remained as beautiful as ever, even without the cold clear skies of the South Pole, and Sokka felt the beast ease slightly in its glow. It then began thrumming in anticipation, knowing it was about to be unleashed again, and the teen let it surge forwards. Familiar sensations flooded his body as it grew, strengthened and changed and soon the beast stood in place of the teen.

As always it lifted its head and howled at the moon, causing Aang to shift in his sleep some distance away and disturbing Appa who remained alert for a while at the sound of the predator. It then shifted onto all fours and loped off into the surrounding trees eager to investigate all the new scents it discovered. Food was of utmost importance and meat was the desired sustenance, a likely scent was found and the hunt began,

It took a short time for the beast to get used to the new environment, it had spent its whole life on the icy wilds of the South Pole so a forest was new territory. Eventually it had a handle upon its surroundings and soon it was navigating obstacles or simply removing them with brute strength. Power flowed through the limbs making the beast a far more potent predator than many others as it gracefully moved through the forest with agility and more than just a hint of a certain boy's gait. The scent grew stronger and the beast felt the thrill of the hunt as it ran its target down, stealth would come into play soon but for the moment it was playing catch up and it enjoyed its headlong rush.

The moon watched from above.

* * *

It had not been a good night for hunting.

It wasn't like the prey was difficult it was just that things did not work out in the beast's favour this time. Dawn started approaching and as the moon got lower in the sky the beast chose to give up the hunt and returned to where it had begun that night. As it reached the place the beast fell away like a coat that had been shrugged off and the claws, snout, fur and fangs all shrunk and reshaped into the human that had been before. Sokka stood a moment or two slightly disorientated until he realised he was back where he'd hidden his clothes. Pulling them out of their hiding place he swiftly put them back on before hurrying away back to their camp.

He reached it just before dawn and found that both Aang and Katara had not waited up for him, just as he'd asked. Sneaking in quietly he made shushing gestures to Appa, who'd awoken to see him, and quietly wriggled into his sleeping bag.

Letting the beast out always made him dead tired the next day and he hoped that the other two would let him sleep in for a long time, the pit in his stomach told him that the beast hadn't eaten well that night so he knew he'd have to find something to appease it later but for now he needed sleep.

As soon as he was in his sleeping bag he fell into slumber.

* * *

 _ **PS-Next up, the Southern Air Temple! Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	3. Southern Air Temple

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter. This one is the Southern Air Temple and it does have a lot of dialogue from the episode in it. However it does have a couple of things unique to this AU it's just at the moment the canon isn't diverging that much from the original. Thank you those who've shown their support for this story so far and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Southern Air Temple**

Sokka didn't get his long sleep in.

The annoying bundle of energy that was the Avatar had been up at the crack of dawn eager to get to the Southern Air Temple. He'd then woken Sokka up by fooling him into thinking he had a prickle snake in his sleeping bag causing him to startle awake, hop around in panic and fall flat on his face. After this frankly humiliating wake-up call he didn't even get breakfast and Katara actually told him off saying he shouldn't be so lazy in the mornings when he mentioned this. Overruled by a bossy sister and an excited Avatar he ended up packing his things up with bad grace and a lot muttering and complaining.

Yes he understood why Aang was so excited and at any other time he wouldn't have been this cranky about it but he was very tired, very hungry and had a very grumpy beast inside that kept reminding him of these facts. Within a short time they were back on Appa and in the air again and his stomach declared its needs very loudly.

Sokka looked down at in annoyance, "Hey, stomach, be quiet, all right? I'm trying to find us some food."

The beast inside growled at him to get on with it and he rifled through the far too empty supply bags and tipped them out onto his hand, all he got was a few crumbs, "Hey! Who ate all my blubbered seal jerky?"

Aang looked round at him guiltily, "Oh, that was _food_? I used it to start the campfire last night. Sorry."

"You _what_!" Sokka could not believe this, he'd been keeping that aside specifically for a situation such as this and he moaned unhappily as the beast did likewise, "Awww, no wonder the flames smelled so good."

As Katara and Aang continued the conversation Sokka focused inward trying to calm the now very, very unhappy beast and promised himself that he'd find some food as soon as possible. Then Appa sped up and he found himself gripping tightly to the saddle as the bison flew tightly around a mountain revealing the amazing sight that lay beyond.

Looking like a part of the steep mountain it was built upon the Southern Air Temple was indeed incredible. A tall tower dominated the very peak, exquisitely carved and evoking the wind the airbenders who built it used, similar towers stood at other points upon the mountain peak and between them wound smooth paths heading downwards to a large round platform that was probably where the sky bison once landed. Sokka couldn't deny that the temple did indeed look beautiful and he temporarily forgot about his ravenous hunger.

Though he wasn't looking at them Aang's happiness and pride was obvious as he gestured to the temple, "There it is…the Southern Air Temple!"

Katara stared at it the wonder clear on her face, "Aang, its amazing!"

The kid patted Appa, "We're home buddy, we're home."

* * *

"So where do I get something to eat?"

They'd landed at the temple and were currently making their way upwards with Aang bounding ahead like a polar-dog cub, Sokka had finished being amazed at his surroundings and was now refocused on satisfying his raging hunger. Katara was clearly annoyed and incredulous at his, quite frankly, reasonable question, "You're lucky enough to be one of the first outsiders to _ever_ visit an airbender temple and all you can think about is _food_?"

"I'm just a simple guy with simple needs."

And a not so simple beast inside that required a lot of food to stop it coming out at the wrong time to go hunting but Katara didn't know about that. Letting it out used up loads of energy and with it not catching any food last night and no breakfast this morning Sokka needed to eat, very soon.

They caught up to Aang and the kid pointed down at a large ledge covered with wooden posts of different heights and with two goal-like things at either end, "That's where my friends and I would play airball." He pointed elsewhere, "And that's where the bison would sleep and…"

He trailed off and sighed, "This place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison. Now there's just a bunch of weeds." He looked down sadly, "I can't believe how much things have changed."

There was a brief silence as both Sokka and Katara simply looked at each, they stepped forward together but it was Sokka who spoke thinking that he knew a brilliant way to cheer Aang up, "So, uh, this airball game? How do you play?"

* * *

"Statues!? That's it? Where's the meat?"

Once again the beast inside Sokka groaned unhappily as the boy looked around at the many statues in disappointment. After getting himself soundly beaten by Aang at airball and then discovering a Fire Nation helmet they'd headed up to the main temple. Katara had covered up the evidence of Fire Nation invasion and despite Sokka trying to convince her to tell Aang she'd continued to hide it. He'd tried to get her to see that hiding it would only make things worse later but she didn't listen and kept up her lie.

Ignoring him (an increasingly popular trend it seemed) Katara and Aang wandered amongst the statues, "Who are all these people?"

Aang looked about uncertainly, "I'm not sure, but it feels like I know them somehow. Look!" He pointed at one of the statues, "That one's an airbender!"

"And this one's a waterbender. They're lined up in a pattern." Katara's hand began moving along the line, "Air, water, earth and fire."

"That's the Avatar cycle."

"Of course!" Katara gazed around excitedly, "They're Avatars. All these people are your past lives, Aang."

Aang gazed up at the many tiers of statues towering above them, "Wow! There's so many!"

Sokka turned to them both sceptically, "Past lives? Katara, you really believe in that stuff?"

Personally he'd never seen any reason to believe that anyone, including the Avatar, was reincarnated when they died but of course his sister begged to differ.

"It's true. When the Avatar dies he's reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle."

Sokka decided against arguing with her and instead opted for coming up to examine the statue that Aang suddenly found so interesting. As he got closer Katara gently shook Aang, "Aang, snap out of it!" He startled as if he'd just been woken up and she gestured to the statue, "Who is that?"

The boy answered without hesitation, "That's Avatar Roku, the Avatar before me."

Sokka leaned in closer to the statue noting that it had the Fire Nation symbol, "You were a firebender? No wonder I didn't trust you when we first met."

Of course it may also have something to do with the fact that he took a while to trust anyone to begin with, having a dangerous beast inside made you wary of people in case they wanted to kill you because of it.

"There's no writing. How do you know his name?"

At Katara's words Sokka looked to see that there was indeed no writing and Aang frowned, "I'm not sure…I just knew it somehow."

This was getting a little too airy-fairy for Sokka's liking, "You just couldn't get any weirder!"

Suddenly Sokka got the feeling that they weren't alone and he looked back to see a shadow approaching, immediately the three of them dived behind the statues and hid. The shadow came up between them and he was sure he recognised its shape, "Firebender. Nobody make a sound."

"You're making a sound!"

Both boys shushed Katara as the shadow advanced further and Sokka slowly pulled his boomerang out of its sheath on his back, "That firebender won't know what hit him."

The beast inside growled eagerly at the chance of getting the first of the trip's promised head-knocking and Sokka leaped out from behind the statue boomerang at the ready with the other two right behind him. They froze as they registered that it wasn't a firebender at all but rather a small rodent-like creature with large ears and wings, it cocked its head curiously and gave a strange 'chirrup' noise.

"LEMUR!"

Aang had yelled with excitement but Sokka and the beast had different uses for the new arrival that the boy certainly wasn't thinking of.

"Dinner…"

Instantly Aang moved forward, "Don't listen to him! You're going to be my new pet."

This time Sokka was not going to let the kid have his way, he was hungry and had been all morning so he was having this lemur for lunch and nothing was going to stop him. Stepping forward he eyed the creature hungrily, "Not if I get him first!"

With more than a bit of encouragement from the beast, Sokka dived forward determined to catch the tasty morsel but the lemur had other plans. It bristled and hissed before darting away and taking flight, landing heavily he felt Aang (who was trying to save the creature) land as hard beside him. Both of them shot to their feet and sprinted off after the lemur.

"Wait! Come back!"

"I wanna eat you!"

Racing down a hallway the two were closely matched for speed, if they weren't so focused on the chase they might've noticed that Sokka was moving far quicker than he should've been. Aang was boosting his speed with his airbending yet Sokka had no such powers and was still keeping up, something that shouldn't have been possible.

Wanting to win this hunt Sokka swung his water tribe weapon low intending to trip Aang with the blunt side, however the boy easily leapt it and then ran along the wall to move ahead. He then turned and kicked an airball backwards smacking Sokka right in the stomach winding him.

He recovered as quickly as he could and endeavoured to catch up but he arrived on the balcony at the end of the hall just in time to see Aang bouncing off down the cliff face as only an airbender could.

"Hey! No fair!"

Still with adrenaline thrumming through him and with a very hungry beast urging him on, he leapt over the balcony and plummeted after the Avatar.

For any other non-bender this would've been an act of suicide but not in this case. Sokka landed upon one of the rock spires sticking up from the cliff face, instinctively he kept the movement going and leapt down to the next one, then he slid skilfully down a rocky slope straight into another leap to the side, down another slope and dropped to another spire. Throughout the whole manoeuvre he didn't make a single mistake and he moved with a grace and power he'd never shown before.

At least not as a human.

Very soon he was down on level ground again and instinctively headed for the ruined building that stood on the circular stone ledge without realising what an impossible thing it was he'd done to get there. Pushing through a tattered old curtain he called out, "Hey Aang, you find my dinner yet?"

He spotted the boy at the end of the room crying and instantly he began to feel guilty so he changed his mind regardless of the beast's protests, "Aang, I wasn't really going to eat the lemur, okay?"

Then he spotted the skeletons.

Many were obviously firebenders, their uniforms were clearly Fire Nation and the way in which the building was ruined showed definite signs of fire damage. However the one of most importance was the one clothed in the robes of an Air Nomad monk wearing a recognisable necklace whose double was carved into a statue Aang had shown them earlier.

Monk Gyatso, the closest Aang had once had to a father.

"Oh man…" Aang had found out what Katara and, by extension, he had been hiding in the worse way possible, he hurried to the boy's side and placed his hand on Aang's shoulder, "come on, Aang, everything will be alright. Let's get out of here."

The beast inside him snapped out an alarm just as Aang's tattoos began to glow, the boy's head snapped round to face him showing the wrathful expression that was only enhanced by the glowing eyes. Sokka gasped and involuntarily stepped back as a whirlwind grew at Aang's feet lifting him into the air, he tried desperately to reach the enraged Avatar, "Aang, c'mon! Snap out of it!"

The whirlwind suddenly expanded in size blasting Sokka back and destroying the building they'd been in, the teen managed to take cover behind some rubble and soon Katara joined him there, "What happened!?"

"He found out firebenders killed Gyatso!"

A look of fear crossed her face as she looked at the glow of the devastated Aang, "It's his Avatar spirit! He must have triggered it! I'm going to try and calm him down!"

Sokka gripped the rubble, "Well, do it before he blows us off the mountain!"

Despite the blatant danger he had faith that Katara could reach Aang so he wasn't going to protest her attempting to calm him. She still clung to the rubble but she faced Aang and communicated calmly despite having to yell over the raging wind, "Aang, I know you're upset and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love. I went through the same thing when I lost my mom. Monk Gyatso and the airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family. Sokka and I, we're your family now."

As she spoke the wind began to settle and die as Aang gently lowered to the ground once again, soon it was just him standing there with his tattoos and eyes glowing and both siblings came to his side as Sokka added his own reassurance, "Katara and I aren't going to let anything happen to you. Promise."

Katara clasped Aang's hand and the glow instantly faded, he collapsed into her arms and she gently held his shoulders as they fell to kneel on the ground.

"I'm sorry."

Katara kept her voice gentle, "Its okay. It wasn't your fault."

"But you were right. And if the firebenders found this temple then it means they found the other ones too. I really am the last airbender."

Katara gripped him just a little tighter and Sokka placed a hand on his shoulder. As he did so he dimly noticed that the beast inside also felt sad.

* * *

 _ **PS-So that's that episode. I think I'm going to skip a couple of episodes next chapter as they won't be that different from their original forms. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	4. Memory in Spirit

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to the next chapter. We've skipped ahead a couple of episodes to the first part of the Winter Solstice two parter. Thank you those who've supported this story so far and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Memory in Spirit**

Still heading north they'd had several adventures along the way.

They'd been to Kyoshi Island where Sokka had learned a good deal about combat (and humility) from Suki and the other warriors. They'd met King Bumi, Aang's friend from a hundred years ago (who was in all honesty nuts) and had even helped another teen called Haru by convincing a whole bunch of captured earthbenders, including Haru's father, to escape and fight back (though that was mostly thanks to Katara).

Now though they were in the middle of a stranger adventure.

A spirit called Hei-Bai was attacking a small village in a forest which had mostly been burned to the ground by firebenders, it was coming every night and kidnapping people and destroying the place. Apparently, as the Avatar, Aang was supposed to act as a sort of peacekeeper between the spirit world and the real one, this meant that the villagers wanted him to sort things out before the Winter Solstice where the boundary between the worlds would become thin. The 'great plan' was to all hide inside the village hall and leave Aang outside to magically come up with a way to sort this mess despite the fact he had no idea what he was supposed to do.

Sokka did not like this idea at all.

Stood at the window watching Aang standing out in the dusk alone he grumbled with displeasure, "This isn't right. We can't sit here and cower while Aang waits for some monster to show up."

Behind him the old man that had brought them here in the first place disagreed, "If anyone can save us, he can."

"He still shouldn't have to face this alone."

Avatar or not Aang was still a kid and he wasn't even a full Avatar yet, he'd known nothing about his role as the 'bridge between worlds' until that day and he had no idea what he was supposed to do. Sokka could tell that it bothered Aang greatly that he didn't know just what the Avatar was supposed to, that's why the kid was so eager to do this, he wanted to prove that he could be the Avatar and in a way Sokka sympathised with him.

Dusk turned to night and after shouting something into the forest Aang turned and began walking back towards them, then from the forest strode a mighty, six limbed creature. It walked upon four of those limbs with the other two held like arms, it seemed similar to an animal like a polar-dog or platypus-bear but it was far larger and covered with black and white markings.

Aang noticed he was being followed and turned to look up at the creature and Sokka tightened his grip on the windowsill barely noticing that he'd started to crack it. Aang spoke to Hei-Bai only to have the monster roar right in his face, revealing all its sharp teeth and blasting him with a surge of blue energy. Everyone watching gasped as Aang was blown back but he appeared unhurt, he quickly recovered and began speaking to the creature but Hei-Bai simply ignored him and set about trashing the village.

As Aang continued running after it trying to get the spirit to listen Sokka continued to unknowingly crush the windowsill under his grip. The village chief was stood behind him watching what was going on, "The Avatar's methods are…" He was interrupted by a flying chunk of debris that bounced off the top of the window frame forcing them to duck, "unusual."

"It doesn't seem interested in what he's saying!" Sokka pointed out, "We should go help him!"

Again the old man shot his suggestion down, "No, only the Avatar stands a chance against Hei-Bai."

Katara gripped his shoulder, "Aang will figure out the right thing to do Sokka."

Aang was still chasing the creature around and Sokka heard him yelling at it, "I command you to turn around now!"

The monster did indeed turn but only to swat Aang away like a pesky fly sending the boy crashing into a roof, at this Sokka had had enough and he flung himself away from the now very cracked windowsill and towards the door, "That's it! He needs help!"

He slammed the door open with almost enough force to take it off its hinges and charged out towards the spirit, "Hei-Bai! Over here!"

He flung his boomerang and the weapon flew in a graceful curve around to strike the creature in its hindquarters, unfortunately it merely bounced off harmlessly but Sokka charged to assist Aang who'd just managed to stand.

"Sokka, go back!"

Sokka had no such plans, "We'll fight him together Aang."

He didn't register the beast growling in agreement of his words as he was focused on Aang.

"I don't wanna fight him unless I…"

Sokka didn't hear the rest of Aang's words as he was swept up by a mighty arm and carried away from the Avatar. The village rapidly vanished into the night as Hei-Bai thundered away from it, soon Sokka spotted Aang flying after them on his glider and he yelled out to him.

"AANG! OVER HERE!"

The kid swooped towards him, deftly dodging trees as he fought to catch up. Sokka held out his hand towards him, "HELP!"

He could feel the beast inside him roaring away and he had no idea why it hadn't surged forward yet. This was the kind of event he'd expect it to do so but it felt like something other than him was holding it back.

Aang reached out his own hand towards his, "Hang on Sokka!"

Then he wasn't there.

* * *

Sokka trudged along after his father his much shorter legs struggling to keep up.

His dad turned to look back at him and smiled, "Stay right behind me son, you'll find it far easier if you step in my tracks."

Sokka did as he was told and found that his dad was right, he grinned, of course dad was right, he was the best hunter in the world. Pulling his own tiny bag further up his back Sokka followed his father as they continued their trek through the tundra.

The two of them were on a hunting trip for a few days with just each other, it was the first time Sokka had been this far from home and his dad had been using the time to teach him all about how their tribe hunted and survived out here. The child had been soaking up everything he'd been taught and had loved every minute of his time out here, they'd had a good haul and were heading back towards home with their spoils. Sokka couldn't wait to show his mum and Gran-Gran everything he and dad had caught, especially the ones he'd caught with his brand new boomerang.

Occupied with his own thoughts of showing off to the rest of the tribe Sokka nearly walked straight into his father when he suddenly stopped, looking up the boy saw his dad wearing a serious expression he'd seen a couple of times on this trip when they'd come across a creature they had to be wary of. Looking ahead he saw a large wild polar-dog lumbering slowly along and he knew what to do thanks to his dad's lessons.

Stay still and quiet and the creature should pass you by as it went about its own business.

For a short while it seemed to be working but then the polar-dog stopped and turned to face them as it sniffed the air, slightly scared Sokka grabbed the hem of his dad's coat, "Dad?"

He placed a gentle hand on his son's head, "It'll be okay Sokka, just stay behind me."

His dad stood in front of him and held up his spear towards the slowly approaching beast, he was hoping that the polar-dog would decide that they weren't worth the effort and back off but this particular one was slightly more confident. It picked up speed and began to charge at them making it clear that it was not going to be intimidated. Realising this Sokka's dad snapped out instructions, "Sokka! Get back!"

Terrified the boy staggered backwards as his dad lunged forward to kill the creature, the polar-dog however simply batted him aside but instead of pouncing upon the man it went for what it deemed the easiest target.

Sokka.

The boy desperately scrambled backwards away from it but he lost his footing and fell to the icy ground, his dad was charging again desperately trying to kill the beast that was about to take his son but the creature was already upon its prey. He could feel its breath, see the saliva dripping from its teeth and certain of what was to come Sokka began screaming.

Then something inside stirred.

His scream became a howl and he felt a surge of strength and power as his vision reddened, primal sensations flooded his body and mind and he didn't even notice his dad stop dead in shock nor the polar-dog bark in surprise. He didn't realise that his limbs were growing and changing, tearing his clothes and rendering them nothing but scraps. He didn't know that his face had reformed and that his ears had grown and become sharper, he didn't see his nails become claws nor notice the flood of scents as his nose became better. All he noticed was his own fear and the desire to survive, for his dad to survive, and his instincts completely took over as he pounced upon the polar-dog who could not comprehend what its originally easy meal had become.

It was over in moments.

Claws rent flesh and spilled blood, teeth sank into a throat as powerful limbs manoeuvred the mighty body. In less time than it took the polar-dog to charge it was dead on the snow leaving a crimson stain upon the pure white as it was rendered nothing more than a still mass of dead fur. The beast that was victorious raised its head as it stood proudly upon its powerful hind legs and howled to the sky, the sound terrifying any who heard it.

Dropping back to all fours the inconceivable cross between man and wolf turned its gaze upon the Water Tribe chief who stood in shock and horror nearby. In a voice laced with fear and holding a hint of desperation the man said one word.

"Sokka?"

The beast growled slightly and took a step closer, it then stopped and stared at the man before finally closing its eyes as if in meditation. Like water the beast form flowed away and soon limbs, face and body reshaped and shrunk back into the form of a Water Tribe boy. Sokka collapsed forward unconscious and his father snapped out of his shock in time to catch his son. For a long time he did nothing but hold his bloodstained son, not wanting to believe what he saw but knowing he had and eventually he took some of the tattered remnants of Sokka's clothes and used them to wipe the blood away. He carefully wrapped his son in some of the spare clothes from his pack and gently carried him homeward leaving the polar-dog's corpse behind him.

As much use as they could get out of that corpse, he couldn't bring himself to take it.

* * *

Sokka found himself pushing his way through a thicket of tall bamboo stalks.

Finding the way out he ended up at the gate of the village and he stood in confusion wondering how he'd got there, last he remembered he was being carried off by the spirit Hei-Bai so how had he escaped?

Suddenly Katara was flinging herself at him and holding him in a bone-crushing hug, "SOKKA!"

Still completely confused he looked down at his sister, "What happened?"

She stepped away and smiled up at him joyfully, "You were in the spirit world for twenty-four hours. How are you feeling?"

His body then made him very clear of a very specific need and he began to make a hasty dash, "Like I seriously need to use the bathroom!"

* * *

Much later he was sat pensively on Appa as they flew towards Fire Nation territory so Aang could speak to Avatar Roku.

Since coming back from the spirit world he'd started to remember the memory he'd seen while he was there. It had been so vivid it was like he'd been living through it all over again, though from the point of veiw of an observer rather than his child self. He could clearly see his dad's face when he'd seen what his son had become, the fear had been so poignant it was undeniable. He could also remember the blood he'd spilled and the ease with which the beast had beaten one of the greatest predators in the South Pole, when it had actually happened he'd never seen the corpse because his dad had taken him away from it before he woke up. He couldn't really remember what it'd been like when the beast was there so seeing that event from an outside perspective made it so clear to him how terrifying and deadly it was.

He could not let it be that out of control again.

* * *

 _ **PS-A look at Sokka's first transformation courtesy of the Spirit World. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	5. Discovering Questions

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello all and welcome to another chapter. This time we're in the episode 'Jet' and we see more deviation from the actual canon, though not very far. Thank you everyone who is supporting this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Discovering Questions**

Sokka knew that Jet was bad news, he could sense it.

Ever since they'd first met him in that Fire Nation camp he'd known he couldn't be trusted. Yes he seemed to be an excellent fighter, an excellent leader who did care about the well-being of his group but Sokka could see something else behind that. He could see the hatred inside and Jet's speech had only made it clearer, the look he'd worn when he'd said his words was one Sokka had seen before.

The one time someone other than his dad had seen the beast inside him.

He'd tried to tell Katara but she refused to listen to him, there'd been no knife on the old man Jet had attacked that day and Sokka was certain of it. Whenever he got into a potentially dangerous situation he'd noticed that his senses got far more acute, including his sense of smell. He had smelt nothing on that man except a bag of food and the clothes he wore, there had been no metallic smell from a knife and Jet's gang certainly hadn't taken it off the man when they robbed him. Unfortunately Sokka couldn't tell Katara all these details but he thought she would still believe him over Jet, but when Jet gave a half-baked excuse of the man being an assassin his sister believed him.

That had been a kick in the chest, especially when Katara had seen him afterwards and declared that he was simply jealous. After those words he'd almost just grabbed his things and walked out in anger but he'd chucked out that idea as soon as it came to mind. Katara could be annoying, bossy and sometimes act superior to him but she was still his sister. Waterbender or not he still had to look out for her and he was well aware of the fact that he was far from the perfect older brother and drove her crazy too. If she wasn't going to leave then he'd have to stay and try and keep her safe, Jet was dangerous.

Sokka gave a small, grim smile. But maybe not as dangerous as he could be.

"Let's go."

Sokka easily recognised Jet's voice and he cautiously stuck his head out the door of their hut, he spotted Jet and some of his followers descending towards the ground and he stole out and followed them. It may be surprising but Sokka could be incredibly stealthy when he needed to be and his presence remained unnoticed as he followed the 'Freedom Fighters' who were lugging a hefty cart full of barrels through the forest. He could see it was the blasting jelly from the Fire Nation camp where they'd met Jet in the first place and he wondered what they needed it for. His gut told him that whatever its purpose, it wasn't anything good.

* * *

It took some time for Jet's people to reach their destination and Sokka had been following them with incredible grace and silence the whole way, stowing himself in some bushes, the teen peeked out to see what they were up to.

There was a valley made from a dried up riverbed before them, in the distance there was a town further down the valley and below them was a large dam forming a partially filled reservoir. Turning to his followers, Jet gave his instructions, "Now listen, you're not to blow the dam until I give the signal. If the reservoir isn't full, the Fire Nation troops could survive."

The little kid who called himself The Duke jumped off from where he'd been sitting on the cart, his voice held a twinge of concern, "But what about the people in the town? Won't they get wiped out too?"

Jet put a hand on the boy's shoulder but his face was stony, "Look Duke, that's the price of ridding this area of the Fire Nation." He spoke to their archer, Longshot, "Now don't blow the dam until I give the signal, got it?"

The archer nodded and Sokka had to suppress a growl that built up inside him. They were going to wipe out an entire town just to get rid of some Fire Nation soldiers!? Now Sokka hated the Fire Nation military, they'd killed his mother and rendered his home to nothing more than a struggling village, but he could not willingly destroy so many innocent lives to beat them. Didn't Jet realise that most people in that town were Earth Kingdom citizens? They may have been conquered but there would be few Fire Nation people actually there, only the few members of the military stationed to keep the peace, most of its residents would be the original citizens who were just living their lives under Fire Nation rule. Destroying the town would do nothing but devastate the lives of the very people Jet was supposed to be fighting for.

He was about to sneak away and warn Katara and Aang when a hand grabbed his wolf tail and hauled him out of the bushes and Smellerbee held a knife against his throat, "Where do you think you're going, ponytail?"

He was dragged painfully over to Jet and flung to his knees.

"Sokka. I'm glad you decided to join us."

Knowing it was pointless to try and talk his way out of this, Sokka spoke bluntly, "I heard your plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom town."

He'd made sure to emphasise the 'Earth Kingdom' part but Jet answered calmly, "Our plan is to rid the valley of the Fire Nation."

Sokka snapped at him, wondering how he could be so blind, "There are people living there Jet! Mothers and fathers and children!"

"We can't win without making some sacrifices."

The factual way he stated it infuriated Sokka, more so when he thought of how Jet was tricking his sister and friend into helping them, "You lied to Aang and Katara about the forest fire!"

"Because they don't understand the demands of war." He crouched so he was at Sokka's eye level, "Not like you and I do."

Now, because it suited him, Jet was trying to make him feel like a fellow warrior but Sokka was not going to listen to him. His dad had told him about the honour a warrior should have, the way he should respect his prey when hunting and his enemy when fighting. Innocents should not be sacrificed in order to secure victory and something like this convinced him that Jet was neither warrior nor freedom fighter.

"I do understand." He fixed Jet with a cold stare that made his blue eyes seem like ice and showed a little of the power that dwelled within him, "I understand there's nothing you won't do to get what you want."

Jet sighed disappointedly, "I was hoping you'd have an open mind, but I can see you've made your choice."

With a sudden growl, Sokka launched himself at Jet but the rebel was too fast and soon he was pinned and pushed into the tight grip of the large man, Pipsqueak.

"I can't let you warn Katara and Aang." Jet nodded to Pipsqueak and Smellerbee, "Take him for a walk…a long walk."

As he was hauled away Sokka threw back a look at him that showed some of the rage the beast inside was feeling, he didn't notice the way Jet and some of his people actually shuddered as he said his parting words in an almost feral snarl, "You can't do this!"

The rebel leader quickly recovered to answer confidently, "Cheer up Sokka. We're going to win a great victory against the Fire Nation today."

* * *

It was much later the following day and Pipsqueak and Smellerbee had taken Sokka deep into the forest.

Sokka's hands had been tied behind his back but he'd been loosening his bonds subtly while they'd been walking. All he needed now was a way to get rid of the two rebels who were guarding him.

Apparently he was going too slowly because Smellerbee shoved him in the back, "Come on, move along!"

Sokka tried to reason with them, "How can you stand by and do nothing while Jet wipes out a whole town?"

It was Pipsqueak who responded, "Hey listen Sokka, Jet's a great leader. We follow what he says, and things always turn out okay."

Sokka spotted some leaf piles nearby that he knew hid Fire Nation hunting traps, a plan springing to mind he answered, "If that's how Jet leads, then he's got a lot to learn."

He dived sideways and sprinted away through the traps avoiding each one easily, Smellerbee and Pipsqueak were hot on his trail but they failed to see the traps and were soon imprisoned in cages hanging from the trees. Slipping his bonds Sokka held the rope up so they could see it, "While you two are up there you might want to practice your knot-work."

Casting the rope aside he ran off into the forest towards the town. He wouldn't stand a chance trying to take on Jet and his rebels alone (at least not as himself) so he couldn't stop them blowing the dam, Katara and Aang would already be filling the reservoir by now so he couldn't go back to the hideout and warn them either which left warning the townspeople as the only way to save their lives. How he wasn't sure but he needed to convince them of the danger and get them to evacuate.

Looking up at the sky he saw that a lot of time had passed since he'd been caught, they could be very close to blowing the dam already. He might not be able to reach the town in time.

At least not as a human.

He immediately wanted to shove that thought aside but something made him think on it further. The beast could reach the town far quicker than he could and time was of the essence. However, he'd never let it out for a specific purpose before and he feared that it would go off and hunt rather than head to the town. Even if it did go there was no guarantee he'd change back in order to warn them and they certainly wouldn't trust what they'd consider a monster.

He wrestled with the problem as he ran until he tripped over tree roots and crashed to the ground. He was still too far away! He'd never reach the town at this rate! Like it or not he was not cut out for the task so if those people were going to survive he had to take a chance.

Tearing off his clothes, he threw them aside to pick up later and focused inward to let the beast out.

Within moments his body had reshaped and formed into the beast, without even stopping to howl the creature bounded off towards the town. Anything that got in the way was either dodged or batted aside as the werewolf ploughed on, this was no hunt, it was a flat out sprint as powerful legs ate up the distance bringing their owner to the town in record time.

There was no transformation back, the beast simply ran right through the town gates and howled in warning, people screamed and cried out in alarm at its appearance as the Fire Nation guards rushed to deal with the conceived threat. Despite this the beast didn't move to attack but instead stood upon its hind legs and gestured earnestly out the gate, the soldiers prepared to rush it but a voice stopped them.

"Wait!"

The very old man Sokka had defended the day before stepped out from the gathered crowd and placed a restraining hand upon the commander's arm, "This is no ordinary beast, I believe it is here to warn us of something."

The commander stared at him incredulously, "But father!?"

"Trust me son. I have seen many strange things in my travels." The man stepped forward towards the beast and gave the customary, welcome bow, "What do you wish of us, noble beast?"

It pointed towards the dam with a paw then swept it down as if through the town, it then gestured to the townspeople and then out of the gate. The old man nodded in understanding and turned to the Fire Nation commander, "You must evacuate the town. It seems the dam is about to be destroyed and the reservoir will destroy everything."

The commander looked shocked, "But Father, that's impossible!"

The man stared at him determinedly, "Believe me son. Only a fool would ignore the warning of a noble beast such as this."

The two stared at each other for endless moments until the commander closed his eyes in resignation, he turned to the people, "Everyone, evacuate the town immediately! We do not know how much time we have so do not stop for personal belongings. Men, assist the people as best you can!"

The town became a flurry of activity as people were shepherded out of the town and up a suitable incline that easily took them out the valley and away from the water's reach. The beast showed them the way to safety and was the last to leave the danger zone, just as it did so a huge explosion was heard from the dam and within moments the surging torrents thundered down the valley towards the town. It was wiped out in seconds as homes and shops were swept away and people looked on in horror as they realised just how close they'd been to being taken along with their home.

The beast looked on until a sudden instinct stirred inside and it looked back upriver, it was about to sprint off in that direction when the old man halted it.

"Please wait."

Reluctantly the beast turned and the man bowed, "Thank you young one, you have saved us all." He smiled up at it, "I recognise your kind eyes and there is something you should know." His smile grew, "You're not alone."

The instinct stirred again and with one last glance back the beast sprinted away.

* * *

In a short amount of time the beast had returned to where it had been released.

It snatched up Sokka's scattered clothes but kept running, this time towards the Freedom Fighter's hideout. It wasn't until it was nearly there that it finally slowed and stopped, the beast smoothly fell away leaving Sokka standing there holding his clothes. Unlike previous times, the teen could actually remember most of what the beast had done and he knew what he needed to do.

Throwing his clothes back on Sokka yelled up into the tree tops, "APPA!"

There was a rumble and soon the sky bison landed before him and Sokka was on his head, holding his reins in moments, "Yip-Yip!"

Appa took to the sky and Momo swooped up to join them as they powered off towards the rise above the dam, he spotted Jet frozen to a tree as Katara yelled at him in anger and swooping down he heard the rebel's answer, "This was a victory, Katara. Remember that. The Fire Nation is gone and the valley will be safe."

Sokka injected pure ice into his voice as he cut into the argument, "It will be safe…without you."

"Sokka."

Ignoring Katara's exclamation, Sokka kept his focus on Jet, "I warned the villagers of your plan, just in time."

"What!"

Sokka ignored Jet and kept speaking, "At first they didn't believe me, the Fire Nation soldiers were going to attack me, but one man vouched for me…the old man you attacked. He urged them to trust me and we got everyone out in time."

Jet snapped at him, "Sokka, you fool! We could've freed this valley!"

"Who would be free?" Sokka responded, "Everyone would be dead."

"You traitor!"

Sokka's gaze grew icier and the wrath of the beast showed in his eyes, "No, Jet. You became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people."

The rebel clearly shook in fear and he tried appealing to Katara, "Katara. Please, help me."

She walked away from him and didn't look back, "Goodbye Jet."

* * *

It wasn't until long after they'd left Jet frozen to the tree that Sokka considered the words the old man had said to the beast.

 _You're not alone._

Did that mean there was someone else with his curse, and how come he could remember everything the beast had done this time? Why had it helped the villagers? What had been different this time around? Was it because he'd forced it out rather than giving in to it?

He sighed and looked across the clouds, he thought he'd worked out how to deal with his curse but now he wasn't so sure. The old man wasn't afraid of the beast and had even called it 'noble', Sokka had never experienced something like that before. The closest he'd got was his own father but even he had been scared when he'd first seen what lurked within him, the other person who'd discovered it had tried to kill him and very nearly succeeded so why had this old man, a complete stranger, trusted the beast.

It seemed he knew far less about his curse than he realised.

* * *

 _ **PS-So a slightly different version of how Sokka saved the town and some questions have arisen. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	6. Where it Belongs

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter. This one is set in the episode 'Bato of the Water Tribe' and it's not quite as long as the last one. Thank you everyone who is supporting this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Where it Belongs**

Sokka had never felt more proud of himself than he did now.

He'd finally been ice-dodging and he'd made it through this rite of passage without incident. Katara and Aang had done their parts brilliantly and he himself had managed to guide them through the trial. He was now officially on his way to becoming a proper Water Tribe warrior and it was taking a lot of effort to stop himself jumping about with joy on the beach as Bato prepared to end the rite with the appropriate ceremony.

Bato approached him, his hand ready to place the black paint upon Sokka's forehead, "The spirits of water bear witness to these marks. For Sokka, the mark of the wise," Bato smiled at him, "the same mark your father earned."

He moved on to Katara, "For Katara, the mark of the brave. Your courage inspires us."

Next was Aang, who seemed uneasy, "And for Aang, the mark of the trusted. You are now an honorary member of the Water Tribe."

Aang's unease grew and he looked away, "I can't."

Sokka looked at him in confusion as Katara stepped towards him, "Of course you can!"

"No," the boy wiped the mark from his forehead, "you can't trust me."

"Aang, what are you talking about?"

Sokka wanted to know that as much as his sister, in answer Aang held out a scrunched up scroll, "A messenger gave this to me for Bato."

Katara took the scroll and opened it up, Sokka peered over her shoulder and everything else fell away as he saw what was on it.

A map showing where their father currently was with the rest of their tribe's warriors.

Bato had been waiting for this message for ages and Sokka had been desperately hoping it would show up before they carried on north. Though they'd already decided that getting Aang to the North Pole was more important than meeting their father he'd wanted to at least know where his dad was, now it seemed that Aang had that knowledge and had kept it from them. Anger surged inside him and he glared at Aang furiously, "This is the map to our father! You had this the whole time!?" the boy didn't even meet his eyes and Sokka didn't bother keeping the feeling of betrayal out of his voice, "How could you?"

His dad was the one person who truly knew all about him, including the beast, and Aang had hidden his whereabouts from him. He knew exactly how long they'd been separated from him and how much they wanted to see him yet he'd said nothing. Shaking with anger Sokka snapped in rage, "Well, you can find the North Pole on your own! I'm going to find dad!"

He stormed off, his feet nearly pounding holes into the ground in rage, and ignored what Bato called after him as he spoke to his sister, "Katara, are you with me?"

There was a long silence until he finally got her quiet reply, "I'm with you Sokka."

* * *

Since he'd stormed away from Aang at the beach, Sokka had not once looked at the boy, not even when they went their separate ways.

They'd been walking down the path with Bato for quite some time and no one had said anything. A wolf howled in the distance and Sokka stopped as he heard the sadness in it, it tugged at his heart and he felt the beast inside react with what felt like sympathy. Katara turned in the direction the sound had come from, which was strangely enough the direction Aang was in, "That wolf sounds so sad."

"It's probably wounded." Inside, Sokka was certain that wasn't the case.

"No," Bato corrected, "it's been separated from the pack. I understand that pain. It's how I felt when the Water Tribe warriors had to leave me behind. They were my family and being apart from them was more painful than my wounds."

Sokka could hear the sadness in Bato's words and he recognised it as a sadness he knew all too well. He remembered the feeling of abandonment when his father had left with all the other warriors, leaving nothing but a final hug and some words he didn't understand at the time. He remembered going into the tundra alone for the first time, on one of his 'hunting trips', and how much it had hurt to change back from being the beast just to find his father wasn't there waiting for him like he had every other time before. The first few months had been so lonely, all the other kids were years younger than him and Katara had absorbed herself in her waterbending or chores. This was when he'd started to build the snow defences, labouring away alone every day trying to distract himself, and gradually he moved himself into his role as the village's sole warrior. His fourteenth birthday was hard as he knew that without any warriors around he'd never go ice-dodging, he couldn't do the very thing that would mark him out as a future warrior and man of the tribe, the thing that let him briefly forget the curse he carried, the curse that marked him apart from everyone else if they ever discovered it. Sokka knew the pain Bato describe intimately and as he remembered a young boy waving off the departing ships alone he understood the words his father had said a little more.

 _Being a man is knowing where you're needed the most._

"Sokka?"

Katara's voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he stood in silence for a brief moment, then, decision made, he turned to face her, "We need to go back." He looked up at Bato, "I want to see Dad, but helping Aang is where we're needed most."

Katara smiled at him, "You're right."

Bato placed a hand on each of their shoulders, "Your father will understand. And I know he is proud of you."

Sokka grinned gratefully, "Thanks Bato."

The warrior rifled through his pack, "I know where to go from here." He pulled out the map and handed it to them, "Take this in case you want to find us. I'll leave a message at the rendezvous point."

Sokka accepted the map with a grateful smile and both him and his sister hugged the man, Katara broke away and started to head back up the path but Sokka lingered, "Bato."

The warrior had started to turn away but he looked back at him, "What is it Sokka?"

"Can you take a message to Dad for me please?"

The warrior smiled and nodded, "Of course I can, what do you want me to tell him?"

Sokka hesitated then answered, "Tell him that I'm going to try and find some answers to my burden. He'll understand what I mean."

Bato looked confused at the cryptic message but smiled anyway, "I'll tell him Sokka." He nodded up the path, "You better catch up with your sister."

The teen smiled and began jogging after Katara, "Thank you Bato, and goodbye."

"Goodbye Sokka."

* * *

They had been getting close to the abbey where they'd left Aang when Sokka heard a galloping sound.

Suddenly some massive mole-creature-thing dived out of the forest behind them and they began to run but it pounced in front to cut them off. Zuko jumped off from where he'd been sitting behind a strange woman (who seemed to be controlling the creature) as said woman spoke to him, "So this is your girlfriend. No wonder she left. She's way to pretty for you."

Sokka could feel Katara's indignation at being called Zuko's girlfriend but he kept his focus on the firebender that constantly pursued them as Zuko snapped at them angrily, "Where is he? Where's the Avatar?"

Sokka readied himself for an escape as he answered defiantly, "We split up! He's long gone."

Zuko was incredulous, "How stupid do you think I am?"

Sokka smirked, "Pretty stupid." He grabbed Katara's arm, "Run!"

They hadn't got far when he felt a sudden sting in his arm and his whole body went rigid, he tumbled forward but couldn't put his hands out to save himself and ended up flat on his face unable to move.

Before long both he and Katara were being taken back to the abbey as their captors continued their pursuit of Aang, bursting into the courtyard the creature circled it a couple of times before looking up just in time to see Aang swooping down on his glider. The creature snapped at him but only succeeded in dumping all its passengers, including Sokka and Katara. Some of the abbey sisters pulled their paralysed bodies out of the way as the courtyard became a combat zone, they could only watch as Appa and Aang took on their opponents and the two duels raged on.

The creature that had paralysed them started to get a distinct advantage as it lashed Appa with its tongue several times, the bison was resisting paralysis admirably but Sokka could tell it was having an effect. Aang was fully occupied with Zuko and couldn't help and soon the boy would be outnumbered when Appa finally succumbed to paralysis. Frustration built up inside Sokka, they needed to be in this fight but were stuck helplessly on the side-lines! He had to help Aang somehow!

His frustration surged up as a growl and suddenly he found himself leaping to his feet as feeling rocketed through them. He sprinted towards a jar of perfume and, with a mighty roar, he threw it towards the enemy creature. The jar smashed between the two beasts just as Appa collapsed and the enemy creature recoiled from the flood of perfume, struck by a sudden idea, Sokka spun round to face Katara, who'd just recovered thanks to the efforts of the abbey's Mother Superior, "That thing sees with its nose. Let's give him something to look at."

The Mother Superior followed his train of thought, "The perfume?"

Sokka nodded eagerly and soon he and several of the other abbey sisters had lined up and overturned several large jars, spilling their contents onto the ground. Katara used her waterbending to drench the creature with the heavily scented liquid and within moments it was blundering around in confusion as its senses were overwhelmed. It lashed out indiscriminately with its tongue, catching both its owner and Zuko, and eventually staggered over the courtyard wall and disappeared.

Knowing time was of the essence, Sokka urged the other two onto Appa ready to fly. The abbey sisters quickly used one of their special perfumes to revive the paralysed bison and within moments Appa was in the air and flying away leaving Zuko behind.

* * *

In the cool of the night an adolescent wolf wandered the dark forest searching for its pack.

It had become separated and its howls remained unanswered as it searched for its family. A lone wolf was a vulnerable creature and it needed to re-join the pack if it was to survive, the pack was everything to a wolf and the instinct to find it was strong.

A distant howl was heard and the wolf recognised it as the howl of one of its own kind.

Eagerly it began to run towards the sound, the desire to join one of its kin burning brightly. It reached a clearing and snuffled around to discover a new scent, it was a strange scent but it could tell that whatever creature it belonged to was a friend. The wolf began to determinedly follow the scent and its path took it through the forest. Mile after mile disappeared behind it as it followed the elusive friend that it desperately wanted to meet.

Suddenly more scents caught its attention and it recognised them as the scents of its pack, it joyfully howled and soon the howl was answered. The wolf charged after the sound, the unknown friend it had been following all but forgotten, and soon it found its pack. Howls and barks filled the air as the lost member returned and the family gratefully welcomed the young one back among them.

* * *

In the shadows a werewolf watched the reunion unfold before it.

It gave a smile before turning away and bounding back towards its own pack, glad that it had, in a small way, shown it's thanks to the wolf that had reminded it of where it belonged.

* * *

 _ **PS-So we're getting closer the Northern Water Tribe where this story will deviate a bit more from canon. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	7. Spirit in the Night

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter. This one isn't set in a particular episode but it does have an extensive mention of the episode 'The Deserter'. Thank you everyone for your continued support (especially since the review system seems to finally be working again) and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Spirit in the Night**

Sokka sat awake by the fire thinking about a lot of things.

Ever since they'd parted ways with Bato they'd pushed on with their journey, now they had a deadline of the end of summer they were wanting Aang to start learning waterbending as soon as possible. The waterbending scroll Katara had stolen from the pirates had been very helpful, however it could only teach so much and both Aang and Katara had gotten a handle on most of the moves it showed, they needed a proper master. Sokka also had his own personal reasons for getting to the Northern Water Tribe as soon as possible that he kept quiet from the other two, they believed he was eager to learn from the northern warriors, and he was, but he also had a hunch that he might learn something about the beast there.

He had noticed a long time ago that his burden was somehow connected to the moon, a full moon always seemed to put the beast at ease and whenever it graced the sky he could feel it touching something inside him. Katara's waterbending seemed to get stronger whenever the moon was out or full and he remembered how Gran-Gran would say that the Water Tribes were connected to the moon. If the beast had connections to the moon then someone in the Northern Tribe might know more, as far as they knew the Northern Tribe had lasted against the Fire Nation better than the Southern Tribe. They had many waterbenders and other masters that could hold the knowledge he wanted so it was his best chance at the moment, and Jeong Jeong seemed to agree with him.

In all honesty, Sokka would admit that he thought the guy was crazy and untrustworthy, he may have deserted the Fire Nation military but he was still a firebender and Sokka had not seen any reason to believe that firebending was a good thing. All he'd ever seen it used for was death and destruction and the evidence of that use had been obvious on their journey, firebenders were the reason Hei-bai had become angry and started attacking that village, firebenders were the ones who decimated their home with the regular raids and taken his mother away and firebenders were the people who terrorised those they'd conquered. As far as he was concerned, the world was better off without firebending.

But Jeong Jeong made him rethink that idea a little, he also seemed to know far more than he let on.

The deserter had largely been training Aang but in the times he left the boy for long periods he'd shown an interest in Sokka. They didn't speak with each other at first (though the man did call him an oaf at one point) but Sokka knew that the master was watching him even as he continued to train Aang, it wasn't until later that they actually engaged in conversation.

* * *

Sokka had been using the rest they were getting to do some fishing, it was a task he didn't really have time for normally because they were constantly on the move but it was one he enjoyed. It was his equivalent of meditation in that he would think a lot while he fished and he'd found his thoughts drifting onto the words the old man had said during the whole Jet debacle.

 _You're not alone._

It had to mean that there was another, or others, with his curse, but how had the old man known it was him? He couldn't shake the feeling that the man had not just recognised the beast, but that he'd been the one the beast lurked inside. It confused him but he'd found nothing since then that supplied any answers or indicated that there was another like him.

Sokka sensed someone nearby and he turned his head to see Jeong Jeong standing on the bank staring at him, it wasn't a hard or suspicious stare but more like one of intense interest, Sokka stared uncomfortably back until the man finally spoke, "You bear a great burden young one."

It wasn't a question or an accusation, it was a simple statement and Sokka wasn't sure how or if he was to respond.

Jeong Jeong looked away from him and out over the river, "Many believe that the four elements are what drive this world but they forget that there are other forces that also help maintain balance."

"Like the spirits?"

The man nodded at Sokka's tentative question, "Yes, but they work with other forces in order to mark the world." Jeong Jeong kept his intense gaze upon the horizon, "Many times the spirits have done great things, both good and evil, in the world, however these things have only occurred due to the decisions and wills of others. Nature has forces that continue to act regardless of what those within the world do, seasons will always change, day will always become night and life will always continue. The creatures of the world do not have faith in spirits nor spend time in deep meditations on the natural laws of the world, yet they still obey those laws and continue to live within their boundaries, it is their instinct and a part of their very being. Everything is born with strengths and weaknesses, skills and flaws, and to deny those is to deny existence. No one chooses to be what they are born to be, a firebender will always be a firebender, a waterbender will always be a waterbender and denying what they are will not change that, all they can change is what they do with what nature gives them."

He turned back to Sokka, "Remember this as you look for your answers and do not lose sight of who you are." He turned and began to walk away but he left one more parting phrase, "The legend of Amaruq has long been told in the Northern Water Tribe."

* * *

That was all Jeong Jeong said to him but Sokka was certain that the man knew about his burden and had given him a hint. Why he'd not been any clearer Sokka didn't know but it was the only real lead he had to finding some answers, as such he wanted to reach the Northern Water Tribe so he could look into this 'legend of Amaruq', it might tell him more about his curse and maybe how to deal with it.

Looking inwards he found the beast to be quite content for the moment, likely because it had been let out quite recently, and he wondered about it. Why did he have it? Where had it come from? These questions had crossed his mind many times before but he still couldn't answer them, until he got to the North Pole he could only guess at such things.

There was a soft rustling sound and Sokka stood up and looked towards the dark forest that surrounded their camp.

From out of the trees stepped a large wolf that stood and gazed at him, Sokka instinctively went into a defensive stance, boomerang held ready, but the wolf made no move to come any closer. For ages the two of them simply stared at each other until Sokka slowly sheathed his weapon and relaxed his stance. It was a gut decision but he was certain that their night time visitor wasn't an actual wolf, rather it was a spirit wolf and he was willing to bet it was here for him. The wolf inclined its head before turning and heading back into the trees, it stopped and looked back and Sokka realised it wanted him to follow it.

A part of him wanted to wake up the sleeping Aang and Katara before doing anything but he was sure that whatever this spirit was here for it was for him only, it may give him more clues as to his curse if he followed it. The wolf gestured with its head and silently Sokka followed, leaving the others behind.

* * *

The forest was unusually quiet and still as if in respect for its spiritual guest and Sokka felt slightly unnerved by it. His guide was equally silent and the fact it could move with no noise whatsoever convinced the teen even more that it was a spirit. Onward it lead him through the trees and Sokka became slightly concerned he wouldn't be able to find his way back to the camp, regardless he kept following the wolf and slowly he noticed a change in the forest.

The trees were becoming larger and more ancient and Sokka was beginning to feel an odd, almost spiritual energy around him. It felt strangely raw as if it was more primitive than the spiritual feel to the inner sanctum of the Air Temple, there was something untamed about it that brought excited energy to him rather than the content peace Aang always said he got from meditation. It made him want to run and leap, to expend physical power purely for the fun of using it, to sprint through the forest on some great chase or hunt, blood pounding and pulse racing as you charged after whatever it was you were trying to catch. It surged his senses, making him far more aware of his surroundings than he usually was and scents flooded his nose telling him far more about the forest around him than any human could discover themselves.

In the heart of this great wood, the wolf came to a stop before a mighty statue.

It had been carved from a stone that stood in the centre of an old clearing and it towered over him. It was clearly a werewolf and it stood proudly upon its hind legs, its front paws held out to the sides in a pose that exuded power and strength. Strangely enough the face had not been carved into a snarl or a howl as Sokka expected, instead it was displaying a confident, friendly smile, the kind you would find upon a statue or picture of a noble hero. It projected an aura not of ferocity or savagery but of safety and trust, like you could rely upon the creature to defend you against all odds. It stood upon a round pedestal and the teen could see that a large circle had been carved around the werewolf's paws. In the centre of the circle was another carving that looked sort of like some kind of fish but he couldn't tell for certain. Writing was carved around the base but he couldn't read it, he looked towards the spirit wolf in askance but it had completely disappeared. He glanced around the clearing and but couldn't find the wolf anywhere, looking back to the statue he found himself instead facing a fire and that the clearing had disappeared as well.

Somehow he'd ended up back at the camp, where Katara and Aang still slept, right next to the fire.

He sat in his original position feeling more confused than ever, why had the wolf shown him that statue? What did it mean? He'd hoped to get at least one answer tonight but instead he had more questions. He contemplated trying to find the statue again but something told him he'd never manage it if he tried.

He sighed in frustration and looked up at the starlit sky, perhaps he would find something at the Northern Water Tribe.

* * *

 _ **PS-So more mystery and we'll be at the Northern Water Tribe next. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	8. Yue and Qimmiq

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to the next chapter. We're now at the Northern Water Tribe where Sokka may finally get some answers. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Yue and Qimmiq**

They had finally reached the Northern Water Tribe and Sokka had to say he liked how it looked already.

Being welcomed by several waterbenders who trapped Appa in ice hadn't quite been how they envisioned their first meeting but there was a war going on, you couldn't blame them for taking precautions when strangers appeared near their home. Word must have travelled ahead of them since it didn't take the people long to recognise who they were and lead them into the city, it was here that he saw a most beautiful, silver haired girl and the strangest feeling bubbled inside as she passed them in her boat. Even as they were taken to the chief and welcomed as guests of honour, Sokka's mind lingered on the girl he'd seen and the feeling he'd felt.

A feast had been set up in their honour and Sokka couldn't wait to get started eating, he smiled slightly when he saw Appa roar at the men who brought his food causing them to hurry fearfully away from the bullying bison. He stopped himself fidgeting as Chief Arnook stood to address the guests, "Tonight, we celebrate the arrival of our brother and sister from the Southern Tribe," here many of the guests stared at him and Katara but they both kept smiling despite feeling uncomfortable as the Chief continued, "and they have brought with them someone very special, someone whom many of us believed had disappeared from the world until now." he gestured to Aang, "The Avatar!"

People cheered as Aang grinned and Arnook waited for the hubbub to die down before finishing, "We also celebrate my daughter's sixteenth birthday. Princess Yue is now of marrying age."

He stepped to one side to reveal the silver haired girl from before and Sokka openly gaped as he lay eyes on her again, the crazy feeling inside from before stirred once more and he stared at her with wide eyes as she spoke to the people, "Thank you father. May the great Ocean and Moon spirits watch over us during these troubled times."

Chief Arnook said something else but Sokka missed it as a variety of meats was placed before him, practically salivating he began eating with gusto as the beast inside squirmed with delight at the meaty dishes. He was so absorbed in his meal he didn't notice the princess approaching until she sat next to him, instantly he swallowed what he was eating and composed himself into what he hoped was a suitably 'cool but casual' pose, "Hi, there. Sokka, Southern Water Tribe."

She smiled and inclined her head to him in a small bow, "Very nice to meet you."

He sat awkwardly for a moment trying to think of what to say next. He'd not had this much trouble speaking to a girl before, why did Yue throw him so off balance, "So…uh…you're a princess!" She smiled and nodded at his very obvious statement and he tried to recover the situation, "You know, back in my tribe, I'm kinda like a prince myself!"

Katara chose this moment to join the conversation, "Ha! Prince of what?"

He turned to her in irritation, "A lot of things!" He then realised starting an argument with Katara was not the best way to handle things, "Uh, do you mind? I'm trying to have a conversation here!"

She gave him a mocking bow, "My apologies, Prince Sokka."

He turned away from her and deliberately leaned forward to block her out, he did not need Katara being the annoying little sister right now, "So it looks like I'm gonna be in town for a while. I'm thinking maybe we could…" He then found that he couldn't think of anything for them to do but he had to finish his sentence, "…do an activity together?"

She quirked one of her beautiful eyebrows in confusion, "Do an 'activity'?"

Now completely at a loss Sokka felt himself sweating slightly and he quickly looked down at his food and began eating again in embarrassment, beside him Katara smirked, "Very smooth."

He missed Yue smiling at him in gentle amusement.

* * *

It was the next day and although Sokka had told the others he was going to some warrior training he was actually heading to meet a veteran who was too old for active duty.

After the feast the night before he'd managed to speak to Chief Arnook about something he wanted to know more about.

" _The legend of Amaruq?"_

 _Chief Arnook frowned in confusion, "It's an old story that many mothers tell their children. As far as anyone is concerned, it's nothing more than a fairy-tale, why do you want to know about it?"_

 _Sokka tried hard not to shuffle nervously as he made up an excuse, "I thought it would be good to learn more about some of the stories of the Northern Water Tribe, someone we met on our journey up mentioned it so I was curious."_

 _The chief looked thoughtful, "Well I don't think there isn't many people who couldn't tell you the tale, everyone in the tribe has heard it at least once." He then frowned, "However there is one who's looked into it more than others, he's an old warrior called Qimmiq and he's spent a lot of time looking into the origins of that particular story. He'll know any details that probably get left out when it's told to the children, which might be of more interest to you." He smiled, "I'm sure he'll be happy to tell you all about it, I'll let him know you're coming tomorrow."_

 _Sokka grinned widely, "Thank you Chief Arnook."_

This was now why he was walking through the city streets heading for the home of Qimmiq, as he walked alongside one of the many canals that acted as roads he spotted Yue sitting in her boat as a waterbender powered it down the canal.

He hurried to catch up to it, "Princess Yue! Good morning!" He caught up and slowed to a leisurely walk, "Hey, how about that picnic last night? Boy, your Dad sure knows how to throw a party."

She smiled up at him warmly, "I'm happy you enjoyed yourself."

"Well it wasn't as much fun after you left."

That was a truthful statement, Katara had teased him mercilessly about his 'crush' on the princess making the rest of the celebration pretty annoying. After he'd spoken to the chief about the legend of Amaruq he'd headed straight off to the house they'd been given to stay in and gone to bed.

At his words, Yue looked away blushing slightly and Sokka blushed too, "So, I'm still hoping we can see more of each other."

She looked back at him, "Do an 'activity', you mean?"

Excitement leapt inside him and he grinned goofily, "Yes! At…a place! For…some time!"

She smiled and gave a small laugh, "I'd love to!" She pointed down the canal at one of the many bridges that crossed it, "I'll meet you on that bridge tonight."

"Great! I'll see you…AHH!"

He hadn't been looking where he was going and he tumbled headfirst straight off the end of the walkway into the freezing water. Surfacing quickly he pulled himself back onto land to see Yue waving at him, amusement written all over her face, "Sorry!"

He waved back, "That's okay!" He fell back to lay on the walkway with a contented sigh, "It was worth it."

His thoughts of Yue were broken into by the sound of someone chuckling beside him, looking towards the sound he saw an old man standing there laughing, "Young love, it always leads to such humorous events." He looked down at Sokka, a twinkle in his eye, "I see that feelings for a certain princess caused you to walk right past your destination young lad."

Sokka was confused for a moment then realised who this person was, "You're Qimmiq!"

The man grinned, "That I am."

Sokka stood about to apologise but Qimmiq waved him off, "Don't worry lad, I know all too well how a beautiful lady can make a young man forget things from time to time. I was equally distracted by them when I was your age." He clapped Sokka on the shoulder, "Now let's get you back to my house and into some dry clothes, you'll freeze if you keep those sodden things on."

Remembering that he was soaking wet, Sokka gratefully followed the elderly man back to his home.

* * *

Qimmiq's home was small and homely with many odds and ends decorating its walls.

It was clear looking around that the man had indeed been a warrior, Water Tribe weapons were many of the decorations and Sokka could recognise most of them. There was also many pelts and furs showing that the man had also been a great hunter and the teen had a feeling Qimmiq had been quite a force in his youth. Age had not wearied the man's confident posture and he was obviously still in good shape despite his long years, Sokka wouldn't be surprised if the man had somewhere where he could still train even though he was retired.

Now wearing some dry clothes that had apparently once belonged to one of Qimmiq's sons, Sokka sat near the central fireplace where his wet clothes were drying. Qimmiq himself was rifling through a stack of scrolls and Sokka watched as he sipped at a hot drink the man had made for him.

Soon, Qimmiq gave a small noise of triumph and he came over carrying what several scrolls, "Here it is! My own account of the most original form of the legend I could find."

"Original form?"

The man smiled at Sokka's confusion, "The legend of Amaruq has been told in the Northern Water Tribe for generations, over time it has been changed and altered by whoever was telling it creating many different versions. Even amongst the tribe there are differences in the tale depending on who is telling it, people tell the version they know or take or add bits of it to make it a better story for their respective audience." He settled on the other side of the fire across from Sokka, "The tales and legends of my tribe have always fascinated me so when I could no longer serve as a warrior or hunter I spent my time researching them, the legend of Amaruq was of particular interest to me."

"Why?"

Qimmiq warmed to his story, pleased to have someone who was genuinely interested, "We of the Water Tribes have always held connections to wolves. Many of our customs bear something of these great hunters in them, your own hairstyle is called the warrior's wolf tail." Sokka lightly touched his wolf tail as the man continued, "Yet despite these connections our stories and tales have very little about wolves within them, in fact the only one that has them in any great role is the legend of Amaruq."

Sokka was surprised at his words but when he thought about it he realised that none of the stories he'd been told had had many wolves in them, "Why is that?"

Qimmiq shrugged at his question, "That's what I was hoping to find out. I knew that the best way to unravel this was to look at the source of the legend itself, finding out how it originated might have given a clue. I looked through all the records and scrolls we had, questioned people about how they'd learned the story, who'd told it to them, what did those people add or take away from the story they'd heard? Over time I began to separate parts of the original tale from what had been added later and eventually I managed to compile my own version as close to the original legend as possible, doing so revealed some interesting things."

Sokka leaned forward eagerly, "Like what?"

The man smiled at the teen, "It will make far more sense if I read you the story itself, this one has a great many details which don't make their way into the versions mothers tell their children."

With Sokka hanging onto his every word, Qimmiq unfurled one of his scrolls and began reading.

* * *

 _ **PS-Next up, The Legend of Amaruq. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	9. The Legend of Amaruq

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter. This one, as you're probably expecting, deals with the legend of Amaruq and grants some insight into the werewolves of this particular world. To anyone who's interested, the names of some of the characters are supposed to be Inuit names which seemed most appropriate for the Water Tribe. As far as I know the meanings I supply for the names are genuine but don't hold me to that because I could well be wrong. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **The Legend of Amaruq**

 _The Legend of Amaruq in its most original form possible as recorded by Qimmiq, of the Northern Water Tribe._

Many centuries ago, when the Water Tribes were still united as one tribe at the North Pole, a great hunter and his wife were expecting a child. Near the end of his wife's pregnancy, the hunter was out upon the tundra looking for suitable prey. As he hunted he heard a mournful howling and he went to investigate the sound and found an injured wolf.

It was a female and clearly pregnant on top of being wounded but there was no pack with her, this confused the hunter for he knew that wolves rarely went anywhere alone and expecting females less so. If anything she should have had a mate nearby but there was no other wolf anywhere, she was entirely alone. She howled again but there was no answer and it became clear that, for whatever reason, her pack had abandoned her.

Defenceless as she was the hunter could've easily killed her and used her meat and pelt for his family but he had a kind heart and a respect for life, he would not take the life of a creature that could not defend itself or escape and certainly not one that carried an unborn child. Using some meat from his pack he gained the wolf's trust and took her home where he tended to her wounds.

Time passed and, whether it was the hunter's intent or not, the wolf accepted the hunter and his wife as its new pack, settling into a form of domestication. The young inside both the wolf and the wife grew until both cub and child arrived at the same time.

They came early in the night and both births were long and arduous, but after endless hours the two young ones were born as the full moon sat at its peak in the night sky, the hunter took this as a sign of the Moon Spirit's blessing and he placed his new-born son alongside the male cub.

Thus began a lifelong bond of brotherhood.

Boy and cub grew together and their bond was such that one would not go somewhere without the other, together they played, learned and caused trouble, the way so many close siblings do. They became a flawless team and as the boy became a man and a warrior, his wolf brother was always his greatest ally. Side by side they walked the path of life, always caring for each other and protecting each other from harm, together they accomplished great deeds as hunters and heroes and their fame spread throughout the tribe.

The warrior picked up many friends along the way but he became close to another in particular, a waterbender who possessed particular skill and was in line to inherit chieftainship of the tribe. Both men were best friends and it wasn't long before the combination of warrior, beast and bender became an unstoppable force that defended the tribe against all comers.

But sometimes darkness can turn friendship into enmity.

As his fame grew the warrior attracted more attention and the waterbender let a seed of darkness into his heart. He started to feel overshadowed by his friend and jealousy brought other dark forces into his thoughts, anger, bitterness and then a desire to claim power as chief and these things slowly twisted his heart towards evil. A dark plan formed in his mind and he delved into more and more sinister uses for his bending, slowly he drifted further and further away from the warrior until any form of friendship he felt for him disappeared.

Then, after much preparation, the waterbender staged a coup against the tribe's chief and used his dark techniques to take his father's life. He twisted the evidence and turned the elders against the warrior and claimed that he was the one who'd tried to claim power. Fed lies by the waterbender's loyal followers, the people believed the accusations and turned against the warrior, pursuing him and his wolf brother across the vast tundra.

For three months the chase continued, the warrior and wolf battled the icy wastes alone while trying to remain ahead of the people who'd turned against them, but even they could not outrun a whole tribe forever. Eventually, weariness, heartache and the harsh environment caught up to them and they were chased into an inescapable corner.

Trapped by many of the tribe's best warriors, the brothers could only escape by killing those who hunted them but the warrior would not kill members of his tribe. Despite being betrayed by his best friend and hunted by his comrades, he did not let the betrayal drive him to anger and hate. In his heart he knew that those who faced him believed they were doing what was right so he refused to take their lives simply to save his own.

In an act of overwhelming bravery and sacrifice he surrendered his life to those that had turned against him and he was brought back to the tribe in chains. Upon seeing his former friend the waterbender unleashed his hate upon the warrior, shunning any form of trial or justice, he used his dark bending powers to brutally murder his friend right before all the tribe. Filled with horror at the act the people shrank away in fear of their chief and they began to doubt the lies they'd been told.

The wolf, always true to his human brother, remained by the warrior's side throughout it all and when his brother's life was brutally taken, the wolf gave a howl so mournful it was said that its sorrow could be felt by every wolf in the North Pole.

It was at this moment an invasion force began an attack.

With their greatest warrior dead before them and their chief clearly on the path of evil, the tribe faltered in their defence. The invasion force pressed home their attack and as more and more warriors and benders fell hope dwindled.

Throughout it all the wolf remained firmly with the warrior's body, their bond was so great that the warrior's spirit could not move on without his lifelong companion nor while his tribe was in peril and the wolf sensed it. In an act of supreme loyalty and brotherly love, the wolf reached out with his spirit and offered it to the Moon, the Great Spirit that considered all wolves its children. The Moon Spirit graced him with its power and then something truly extraordinary happened.

The Moon's power flooded through the bond between the warrior and the wolf, drawing their spirits even closer together, the connection grew until they began to merge. The warrior gave his knowledge and learning and the wolf gave his instincts and life, their strength combined and even their physical bodies melded and reformed into a whole new existence. Man and beast became one, becoming a fusion of the two kinds, two spirits formed one new one and what was once a bond between two creatures became a single creature in its own right. The loyalty and brotherhood that had been nurtured and cherished for a lifetime became a force that had never been seen in the world before.

A werewolf.

Filled with far greater power than any warrior, the werewolf threw himself upon the enemy in defence of his tribe. Alone he beat back countless invaders and those who'd seen the transformation felt hope renew and the battle turned in their favour. Many invaders were terrified of the new defender of the tribe, most began to flee and any that tried to fight were defeated with ease. The tribe rallied and soon the enemy was pushed back and forced into a retreat and the werewolf howled in victory as they fled.

The battle won the werewolf faded away and slid into a more familiar, human form of the warrior who'd been betrayed, the waterbender tried to turn the tribe against him once more but all now knew the dark techniques he wielded. The people rose up against him and he was overthrown, the tribe tried to make the warrior their new chief but he refused the role, instead he helped a council decide upon a new ruler before taking up the mantle of protector of the tribe. He shed his former name for he was no longer the warrior nor was he the wolf, he was a creation of them both that was only possible because of them sacrificing the individuality of their spirits to become one being. Because of this, the Moon Spirit blessed him with the name 'Amaruq', which meant 'grey wolf', and he became known as the 'Child of the Moon'.

It is said that after Amaruq's eventual passing his spirit joined with the Moon Spirit, people believed that the spirit of Amaruq would bless certain Water Tribe children with the gift of the werewolf. These children would always carry the blessing of the Moon Spirit who would give them strength the way it gave Amaruq strength, these chosen few were named 'Children of the Moon' in honour of the first werewolf.

Amaruq, Child of the Moon.

* * *

Sokka had listened intently as Qimmiq had read and now questions buzzed around his head.

"Amaruq was a werewolf?"

The elderly man nodded, "Indeed, that particular detail was one that vanished from the story quite early on, most versions say that Amaruq and his wolf brother defeated the invaders as a team, not as one being. Another major detail that changed was the waterbender that betrayed him, in many versions he never betrayed Amaruq but instead died saving his life. That was perhaps changed by waterbenders who didn't like someone with their powers being classed as 'the bad guy'. They also don't mention his dark waterbending techniques."

"What were they?"

The man shrugged, "I have no idea. My research didn't ever tell me what they were in even the vaguest sense, it is likely all records of the techniques were destroyed to prevent anyone else using them. Annoying from a historical point of view but probably for the best in the long run."

Sokka frowned, "Why did the Moon Spirit make him a werewolf?"

Qimmiq smiled, "Remember that the Moon Spirit is one of the most important spirits to the Water Tribes, it is the reason waterbending exists at all. From what I can tell, wolves have always been connected to the Moon in ancient lore, they were loved by it above all other creatures. The Water Tribes also became loved this way through their study of waterbending, the Moon Spirit seemed to have been blessing the warrior and his wolf brother throughout their whole lives. When they needed its help it could not refuse and lent them its power, from there it was their own deep bond that used the power to become a werewolf, possibly an outcome not even the Moon Spirit predicted."

Sokka stayed silent for a while as he pondered this, it explained why the moon eased the beast inside if it was part of the reason that it even existed at all. He never imagined that it was was born out of such a deep, pure bond, he thought that Amaruq had done something to upset a spirit and been cursed, not willingly become a werewolf to protect his tribe. He carefully asked another question.

"Do you think the legend is true?"

The elderly man nodded gently, "I do."

"Why?"

Qimmiq lightly tapped the scroll, "As I researched the legend I came across several other small bits of lore that included werewolves, nothing in our well known tales and stories but in several smaller family, local or forgotten legends. A couple of them I gleaned by reading between the lines where it wasn't specifically stated that a werewolf was involved and some were just me guessing one was there. If you know where to look there are so many incidents that involve werewolves, or something that could be one, there must be something like them that exists. However they are rarely seen or encountered."

Sokka leaned forward, "Why do you think that is, if they've been around for centuries surely enough people must have encountered them by now to make it fact?"

"They're far too rare for that." The elder stated, "As far as I can tell, people gifted as werewolves are exceptionally few, only maybe a couple at any one time. They always come from the Water Tribes and they are never waterbenders, in this day and age any werewolves likely hide their gifts because they, quite understandably, fear what would happen if people knew. The war has likely made them even more wary and with your own tribe as depleted as it is, chances of a werewolf being born have slimmed down." He sighed, "Ever since I began my research I hoped to find one but there are none here in the Northern Water Tribe."

Sokka looked away guiltily but quickly hid it when Qimmiq glanced his way, the teen asked one last question, "You said in the story that Amaruq received that name from the Moon Spirit after he became a werewolf, what was his name before that?"

Qimmiq raised an eyebrow, "Well since Amaruq was born from the joining of the spirits of the warrior and the wolf, he technically had two names before becoming a werewolf. The name of the wolf was Amaqjuaq, it means 'strong one'."

"And what was the name of the warrior?"

The elderly gave a secretive smile, "Strangely enough he was called Sokka."

* * *

 _ **PS-The origin of this AU's werewolves now revealed. If anyone was curious, Qimmiq is also supposed to be an Inuit name which means 'dog', you may notice a slight theme to the names I picked. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	10. Lone Wolf

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello all and welcome to another chapter. Most of this one is about Sokka and Yue's relationship but it's such an important one to him it has to be in this story. Thank you for all your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Lone Wolf**

Sokka had been left with a great deal to think about after his talk with Qimmiq.

The legend of Amaruq, the first werewolf, had told him a great deal about the origin of the beast inside him, making him realise he'd known so little about it. He'd always assumed that it was some sort of curse but now it seemed to be a kind of blessing, a blessing of the Moon Spirit nonetheless

Now he'd always acted cynical about the spirits and all the 'balance' mumbo-jumbo, but he was a practical guy who'd had a very real responsibility to a whole village, he didn't have time to spare on spiritual stuff. Of course another reason was because he believed it was a spirit that had cursed him with the beast so as far as he was concerned, the less he had to do with spirits the better.

Despite this he, like most Water Tribe members, held a great deal of respect for the Moon and Ocean spirits, they were the tribe's most sacred spirits after all. Knowing that the beast was, at least partly, attributed to the Moon made it something quite different from a curse and that changed things slightly. If the beast was a gift from Amaruq's spirit (who was blessed by the Moon) as Qimmuiq said a werewolf was, then it held far more ties to his tribe's spiritual lives than before, he could be doing something very wrong by keeping it hidden.

He considered asking Aang for help.

He was the Avatar after all, the bridge between the human and spirit worlds, he could maybe figure out a way of finding out if the beast was from a blessing from Amaruq's spirit, he might even be able to speak to Amaruq himself and find out exactly what being a werewolf entailed, find out how to control the beast. Of course that would mean telling Aang everything, the kid would want to know why he was suddenly so interested in something like this and he couldn't manipulate him through a lie, if he asked Aang then the kid needed to know the whole truth, it was only right.

Sokka wasn't sure he was ready to tell him.

He didn't want to reveal things yet to Katara, his own sister, and he didn't want to make Aang keep it a secret, the kid would hate doing that. If he told anyone else then Katara would find it out somehow and she would not be happy that he trusted someone else with his secret before her, and he wouldn't really blame her. If the roles were reversed he'd be furious that she'd kept something this big from him and not someone else, it was better that no one knew yet so he couldn't get Aang's help.

He groaned in frustration, all of this was driving him crazy! He needed to focus on something better.

Like his date with Princess Yue tonight.

Okay, neither of them had referred to it as a date but it was going to be just them, alone, and that pretty much made it a date. His eyes widened in realisation, if this was a date then he needed to bring her a gift! Maybe something he made himself? Yes that would work, what better way to show how he felt for her then by bringing her a hand-made gift.

Grabbing a piece of wood and a knife, Sokka began to carve the wood, his thoughts of Princess Yue and their upcoming date temporarily pushing other things to the side.

* * *

The night granted a type of serenity to the city, silver moonlight making the ice streets and buildings glisten in its glow.

Sokka eagerly hurried through the city hoping that he wasn't late, his gift for Yue had taken longer than he'd thought and night had already fallen by the time he'd finished. He saw the bridge up ahead and grinned when he recognised the lone figure standing upon it, he slowed his pace as he got nearer and walked up to her, "Hi, Princess Yue."

She looked troubled and Sokka wondered if his lateness made her think he wasn't coming, he held out his gift for her, "I made you something. I carved it myself."

She looked at it and spoke almost tentatively, "It's…a bear?"

He felt slightly upset she didn't recognise it and he turned it thinking that maybe it was at a bad angle for her to see it properly, "Actually, it's a fish, see it has a fin."

"Oh." She looked away again in what seemed to be sorrow, "I'm sorry! I made a mistake." She turned away entirely and he heard a sob in her voice, "I shouldn't have asked you to come here!"

She ran and Sokka could only stand in shock and watch as she disappeared into the night and away from him. Why had she done that? Why ask him to come here just to turn and run away from him?

In a burst of anger, he flung his carving away from him, not noticing that it flew miles away and out over the city's outer wall. Full of confused hurt he stormed off the bridge and back to where they were staying not understanding why Yue and done what she had.

* * *

His mood had not improved when he got back to the house and he didn't notice the despondent looks on the other two.

"How's warrior training going?"

His response to Katara's question was to moodily kick his rolled up sleeping bag before flooping onto the floor and burying his face in it.

He could almost sense Aang's wince, "That bad?"

He lifted his face up to take the chance to vent slightly, "No, it's Princess Yue! I don't get it. One minute she wants to go out with me and the next she's telling me to get lost!" Now looking at them, he saw similar feelings of frustration on their faces as well and he posed his own question, "So how's waterbending training?"

Katara flopped onto her sleeping bag in a similar way to him and Aang answered angrily, "Master Poophead won't teach her because she's a girl."

Sokka resisted the urge to roll his eyes, he already saw a way they could get around that, "Why don't you just teach her, Aang?"

His sister lifted her head, a smile back on her face, "Why didn't I think of that?" She sat up, "At night, you can teach whatever moves you learned from Master Pakku. That way you have someone to practice with and I get to learn waterbending. Everyone's happy!"

"I'm not happy."

She waved him off dismissively and Sokka felt distinctly unloved, "But you're never happy. Come on, Aang."

They left the house leaving him alone with Momo and Sokka growled in anger, he goes and solves their problem for them and what does he get? Nothing! No sympathy, no care and no support whatsoever. There were times that he felt that Katara and Aang really didn't care for him or thought his problems were somehow less important because he wasn't a bender.

He sighed, looks like he was dealing with things on his own…again.

* * *

He now wished he'd not helped them solve their issue last night for it had somehow led to Katara having a waterbending brawl with Master Pakku.

In a way he was impressed she'd lasted as long as she had, all she'd had until now was a single scroll and her experiments with her abilities but she'd held her own against a master amazingly well. However, Pakku was still a master and his greater experience and lifetime of training claimed him victory, it probably would've ended with Katara's defeat if Pakku hadn't seen Gran-Gran's old necklace and recognised it, leading to quite the revelation.

He was meant to have married her!

The old master stood staring at the necklace, seemingly barely believing it was the same one, "I carved this necklace for your grandmother when we got engaged. I thought we would have a long, happy life together. I loved her."

Katara spoke softly, "But she didn't love you, did she? It was an arranged marriage." She slowly walked up to the old man, "Gran-Gran wouldn't let your tribe's stupid customs run her life. That's why she left. It must have taken a lot of courage."

Yue had been watching the whole thing from beside Sokka and she suddenly burst into tears and ran away from the scene, the teen stood there unsure what to do until he felt Aang put a hand on his shoulder, "Go get her."

He ran after her.

* * *

It was night by the time he found her, standing on the same bridge as the night before, tears streaming down her face.

She looked round but looked away again when she saw it was him, "What do you want from me?"

Sokka took a couple of steps towards her, "Nothing. I just want you to know, I think you're beautiful…and, I never thought a girl like you would even notice a guy like me."

Despite what he'd said when they'd first talked, he knew that she was from a completely different world from him. Despite being Water Tribe, the Northern Tribe worked on an entirely different system from the south and in that system he wasn't actually ranked very high. A princess was well above his station.

"You don't understand."

Sokka shook his head, "No, no, see, that's the thing. I think I do understand now." He hadn't realised it at first, but now he did, "You're a princess, and I…I'm just a southern peasant."

"No, Sokka…"

"It's okay. You don't have to say anything." He turned to leave, telling himself that he was right, "I'll see ya around, okay?"

Suddenly a slim hand grabbed his and spun him to face her, she pulled him towards her and before he knew it, their lips touched and they kissed.

Soon, too soon, the moment ended and as they separated Sokka realised just what had happened, "Okay, now I'm really confused. Happy…but confused."

He thought he'd worked this one out, what was happening?

Yue gave him a sad smile, "I do like you, a lot! But," her face grew sad, "we can't be together…and not for the reason you think. It's because…" She pulled down the high collar of her fur coat, revealing her slim neck and the necklace that graced it, "…I'm engaged."

She turned away, tears flowing afresh in her eyes, "I'm sorry!"

Once again she ran into the dark, leaving Sokka standing alone with only the Moon watching him.

* * *

 _ **PS-So we're finally about to hit 'The Siege of the North'. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	11. Rage in the North

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to the next chapter. We're in the episode 'The Siege of the North' and we get more Sokka and Yue as well as Sokka rage. Thank you all for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Rage in the North**

The days passed and Sokka threw himself into his warrior training.

It helped him get his mind off Yue and her betrothal but it did not improve his mood in the slightest. To complement his hurt at not being able to be with the princess, he now found himself getting more and more irritated by one of the lead warriors.

Hahn.

While undeniably capable and a skilled fighter, he was also arrogant with it. Hahn seemed to think that his abilities automatically made him above reproach and on a higher standing than the rest of them, he believed that his way of doing things was always the best and had little time to spare on Sokka, the 'newbie', unless he needed someone to brag to. In short, Sokka wasn't learning much of anything and a particularly angering event was when some of the others had shown an interest in his boomerang.

It was apparently a unique weapon in the north and when asked, Sokka had been quite proud to tell them about the weapon his father had given him. Most were actually impressed or interested but Hahn had been scornful.

"What good is a toy!? Even a newbie like you should have an actual weapon by now instead of a plaything from daddy."

This was infuriating for Sokka, Hahn didn't just insult the boomerang (which as far as Sokka was concerned was the best weapon ever) but by extension he was insulting his dad, who was doing more to stop the war than Hahn ever had. This was actually making him consider between giving in to the hacked of beast inside and letting it out to fight Hahn, demonstrating the awesomeness that was the boomerang to wipe the derisive smile off the man's face or simply ramming it up his nose for a happy medium between the two. Fortunately, Hahn sauntered off not long after his statement which didn't give Sokka enough to decide but the teen was not happy.

It was made worse by the fact that after Katara's bending battle with Master Pakku, she was now learning from him alongside Aang, the two of them were getting all the training they could want and were unashamedly happy about it while Sokka was getting little useful training and still had the issue with Yue.

When he wasn't training with the warriors he was often at the home of Qimmiq, discussing other werewolf stories the man had found in his research. Many were one off sightings that someone had recorded, a lone hunter being saved from hungry beasts by a wolf-like creature, a single, large wolf taking down huge prey alone, a man being saved from a deadly fall by a beast-man catching him mid-fall. A couple were local legends of smaller villages, such as one of a village being saved from pirates by a powerful wolf that defeated them single-handedly, but none were particularly widespread or even believed. Occasionally he'd catch the man looking at him with this odd, knowing expression and he wondered if Qimmiq had worked out that his interest wasn't purely out of curiosity. If anyone could spot a werewolf it would be the man who'd studied their legends, and Sokka was pretty certain that was what he was.

Until now he'd only referred to his burden as his 'curse' or 'the beast', he hadn't considered it to have an actual name but the more he learned from Qimmiq the more he was certain that he was what the man was so passionate about. Unfortunately, and despite his extensive research, Qimmiq didn't have much about the werewolves themselves, the legend of Amaruq explained their possible origins but all the other tales only detailed what the beast had done, not the identity of the human. The werewolves had kept their secrets well-hidden over the centuries and no matter how much he and Qimmiq searched, those secrets were not revealing themselves easily.

It was when he was coming back from one of these searches through the man's research that he unintentionally stumbled into Princess Yue.

It had been awkward at first but they had both been heading back towards the palace, Sokka to the house he and the others were staying in and Yue was heading home with her father, the fact that Chief Arnook was there and began talking to Sokka made it even more awkward. The chief seemed oblivious to the way the two teens were trying very hard to not look at each other as he kept conversation going, in the end Sokka couldn't take it anymore and when they were about to part ways he took Yue aside and basically begged her that they could remain just friends. Reluctantly she agreed and offered to properly show him around the city the next day and Sokka eagerly grabbed the opportunity.

The next day, the black snow hit.

* * *

The mass of soot that announced the coming of the Fire Nation fell upon the city in the middle of his and Yue's day together, in short order the city alarm was raised and soon people were hurrying to the palace to take part in and hear the Chief's plan of defence.

Sokka hurried there as well pulling Yue with him but on the palace steps she pulled back and stopped, confused, Sokka looked back, "What's wrong? We have to go!"

She let go of his hand, "No, Sokka, wait. I can't see you anymore. Not at all."

"What? We're just friends." And they were, yes there had been that near kiss when they'd been flying on Appa, but nothing had actually happened, why couldn't they just be good friends?

She shook her head, "I wish we could just be friends, but I like you too much and it's too confusing to be around you. I'm marrying someone else."

"You don't love him, do you?" It seemed to be an all too common thing in the north, and Sokka didn't understand it at all, "You don't even seem to like him."

"But I do love my people."

It made no sense to him, why would that make her marry someone she didn't want to? "You're not marrying them."

"You don't understand. I have duties to my father, to my tribe!" He caught a glimpse of unshed tears as she ran by him up the steps, "I have to do this, goodbye!"

For a third time she left him there, confused and hurt again. He'd started to accept she was getting married and that they could only be friends, he was willing to leave it at that but now they couldn't even be friends. Why did this tribe have to be like this? Why did Yue have to give up so much for her people? He understood duty, it had been thrust upon him two years ago when all his tribe's warriors had left, but he couldn't believe that duty would force you to marry someone you didn't like, how did that help the people? It didn't help that for some reason her rejection of him cut so deeply, it was like her turning away from him was as if someone he'd known for years was doing it, like he was being rejected by an old, dear friend.

Emotions in turmoil he followed everyone else up the palace steps.

* * *

The great hall was silent and Chief Arnook stood before everyone.

"The day we have feared for so long has arrived. The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness I call my family here before me, knowing that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe. But they will never vanish from our hearts. Now, as we approach the battle for our existence," He raised his arms upward, "I call upon the great spirits! Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us!" His arms lowered and he fixed them all with a serious gaze, "I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission."

Sokka didn't know what made him stand, his confused emotions, the beast wanting to desperately beat up some firebenders, stupidity, but stand he did, as he spoke with conviction, "Count me in!"

Other warriors followed his lead and he ignored the shocked stares of Aang and Katara as the chief spoke once more, "Be warned. Many of you will not return. Come forward to receive my mark if you accept the task."

Sokka joined the line of warriors and stood solemnly before the chief as he painted the mark on his forehead, as he moved away his eyes locked with Yue's. He saw all the pain and sadness in them but this time, he turned and walked away, not seeing the silent tear she shed.

* * *

The attack had begun.

For most of the day the Fire Nation had bombarded the city, only stopping when night fell. Aang, Katara and the other defenders had been working at minimising the damage to the city while Sokka had been with the other volunteers preparing for their mission. The teen had taken great satisfaction in discovering that he knew far more about the current Fire Navy and their tactics than Hahn, then the chief had inadvertently shocked him when he revealed that Hahn was Yue's fiancé.

It had really surprised and angered Sokka that Yue was going to be stuck with Hahn for the rest of her life. He could think of a number of other people far better suited to the princess and he wasn't surprised that she didn't like the prospect of marrying him at all.

The beast wasn't too happy about it either.

With Sokka's own personal anger and the beast's bubbling away inside him, he was finding it very hard to stay calm as he prepared for the mission alongside Hahn, who wouldn't stop talking.

"Let me tell ya, Soka," why couldn't Hahn pronounce his name right? "I've courted a lot of girls, but Yue is the finest…and she comes with the most perks."

Sokka unintentionally snapped the blade he'd been sharpening, " _Perks!?_ What does that mean?"

Hahn leaned casually, "I mean, Yue's nice and everything, but the points I'll score with the Chief aren't bad either."

Sokka glared down at the blade he'd broken, so Hahn only cared about his standing in the tribe, not Yue herself. He couldn't believe that she was going to be saddled with such a selfish, power-grabbing person, "Princess Yue is wasted on a self-absorbed weasel like you!"

Hahn squared up to him, offended, "Whoa. Hang on. What do you care? You're just a simple rube from the Southern Tribe. What would you know of the political complexities of our life?" He smirked, "No offense."

That was it! His anger as close to the surface as it was, it broke through and with a ferocious growl, Sokka flung himself at Hahn, easily overpowering the man and pinning him down, "You're just a jerk without a soul! No offense!"

Hahn managed to fight back and roll so he was pinning Sokka but the teen threw him off and some distance away. He was about to pounce once more when Arnook's commanding voice halted him in his tracks.

"That's enough! Sokka, you're off the mission."

The chief turned and left without a word and Sokka's rage diminished into humiliation as a smug Hahn addressed the others, "All right, fall in men! Everybody listen to what I have to say and we'll take out this Admiral Jo in no time."

Determined to have the last word, Sokka yelled after them as they left, "Its Admiral Zhao!"

* * *

It was some time later and Sokka was sat where he'd been left behind, sharpening his boomerang.

His anger from earlier was still bubbling away and he was furious, both with himself and Hahn about what had happened. The unfairness of it rankled him, the fact Yue had to marry such a jerk, being kicked off the mission when he could probably complete it himself if he got to the ship and let the beast out. He was tempted to do just that, the beast was as angry as he was and he knew it could deal with Zhao no problem. However he remembered how he'd looked the first time it had happened and the consequences of letting it out with things as they were now could be catastrophic.

He heard someone come into the room and Chief Arnook speaking.

"Is something wrong, Sokka?"

Chief or not, Sokka didn't bother keeping the sarcasm out of his voice, "Oh no! Hahn's out there on the top secret mission while I'm here sharpening my boomerang. Everything's fine!"

He thought he heard the man sigh, "Listen to me. I took you off the mission for selfish reasons. I have a special task in mind for you."

Sokka turned to him angrily, any thoughts of politeness long since gone, "What? You want me to scrub the barracks?"

It was a testament to Arnook's patience when he responded to this blatant disrespect with a calm, but firm, statement, "I want you to guard my daughter, Princess Yue."

At this Sokka's anger stuttered to a halt and he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before finally answering, "Er…sure. That shouldn't be too hard."

* * *

 _ **PS-So you all know what's coming next and expect some more deviation from canon next chapter. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	12. The Werewolf and the Moon

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to the next part of 'The Siege of the North'. We get some more deviation from canon this time around as the fight continues. Thank you for your continued support of this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **The Werewolf and the Moon**

The red moon tarnished the sky.

A lot had happened since Arnook had told Sokka to protect Yue. He'd found her just to discover that Zuko was in the city and had kidnapped Aang, their search took them far out into the icy wastes around the city but, eventually, they found them. As Katara paid the firebender back in full for beating her earlier, Sokka set about freeing Aang who then claimed that the Moon and Ocean spirits were in trouble and they had to get back. Bringing the unconscious Zuko with them (which Sokka still felt was an incredibly bad idea), they flew back to the city as fast as possible.

Then the moon turned red.

Sokka couldn't explain it but the sight filled him with dread, he felt a deep urge, a desperation to get back to the oasis where the spirits dwelled. It went without saying that someone killing the Moon Spirit, as Aang claimed was going to happen, was a very bad thing but it meant more to Sokka then that. If Qimmiq was right, being a werewolf meant that Sokka was deeply tied to the moon, who knows what would happen to him if the spirit was gone.

Beside him, Yue held her head as if in pain, "Ugh…"

He gently took her hand, previous issues between them forgotten in the midst of recent happenings, "Are you okay?"

She looked at him, expression troubled, "I feel faint."

Aang also held his head, "I feel it too. The Moon Spirit is in trouble."

"I owe the Moon Spirit my life."

Sokka gripped Yue's hand a little tighter, "What do you mean?"

"She looked toward the red moon, her gaze slightly distant, "When I was born I was very sick and very weak. Most babies cry when they're born but I was born as if I were asleep. My eyes closed. Our healers did everything they could. They told my mother and father I was going to die. My father pleaded with the spirits to save me, that night, beneath the full moon, he brought me to the oasis and placed me in the pond. My dark hair turned white, I opened my eyes and began to cry…and they knew I would live." She turned her gaze upon Sokka, "That's why my mother named me Yue, for the moon."

Silence fell over the group as they considered her story, strangely enough, Sokka wasn't that surprised by her tale, as if he'd already sort of known it. It may have been because he was a werewolf that he'd subconsciously recognised her blessing from the moon, maybe that was why he'd been so drawn to her from the moment he first saw her and why she could sense the danger looming over the Moon Spirit right now.

He sensed it as well but instead of feeling faint like Aang and Yue, he felt agitated and restless, like he wanted nothing more than to leap off Appa's back, let the beast out and charge to the Spirit Oasis to deal with whoever was trying to kill the spirit. However he refused to do so, releasing the werewolf now was far too dangerous and besides, Appa would fly there quicker than any beast could run and bring the Avatar with him to boot. That and the fact he had a duty to Yue, both as her protector and friend, he could not afford to lose control now.

The oasis appeared in the distance.

* * *

They landed beside the spirit pool just in time to see Zhao being jumped upon by Momo.

The lemur escaped the admiral's flailing arms and flew to Aang, perching on the Avatar's shoulder as the Fire Nation soldiers saw them. Sokka pushed Yue behind him as he and the others readied for a fight but Zhao held up a bag that no doubt contained the mortal form of the Moon Spirit, knife pressed against it.

"Don't bother!"

Aang immediately lowered his staff and held his hands up appealingly, "Zhao…don't."

The man grinned ruthlessly, "It's my destiny…to destroy the Moon…and the Water Tribe."

"Destroying the moon won't just hurt the Water Tribe. It will hurt everyone…including you." Aang tried desperately to convince him, "Without the moon, everything would fall out of balance. You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash on the world."

"He's right Zhao!"

Sokka saw a familiar firebender standing on the other side of the oasis, his eyes fixing the admiral with a fierce stare. Sokka was confused as to why Zuko's uncle was siding with them but Zhao seemed unsurprised as he answered the man in an almost disappointed tone, "General Iroh, why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?"

Iroh's stare did not lessen, "I am no traitor, Zhao, the Fire Nation needs the moon too. We all depend on the balance." He pointed at the bag the admiral held, "Whatever you do to that spirit I'll unleash upon you ten-fold!" He took a firebending stance and Sokka couldn't help but admire the amount of power that single motion somehow displayed, "LET IT GO, NOW!"

Zhao stared right back and for long moments the two men locked gazes, demanding the other to falter. Then, Zhao lowered the knife as if in defeat and carefully released the spirit from the bag and back into the pool. At once, the moon returned to its true, silvery colour and Sokka felt the agitated beast calm slightly in its familiar, serene glow.

Then everything fell apart.

With a sudden look of madness and desperation, Zhao unleashed a cry of rage and launched a blade of fire straight into the pool. Time seemed to slow and everyone could only watch as the flames sliced the water and struck the Moon Spirit, ripping a gash in its side that burned closed immediately from the sheer heat. The moon above winked out of existence as its spirit died but Sokka didn't just see it, he felt it.

The moment the spirit was struck he felt a surging pain inside, a fierce blow to his heart, his very spirit, that made him stagger back with a cry of pain. The moment darkness fell he felt the searing agony of loss as he realised that the moon was gone, it burned as if he'd just seen one of his dearest destroyed before his very eyes and with the pain came rage.

* * *

In the few seconds that followed the spirit's murder, Iroh sprung forward, no doubt to make good upon his promise of wrath to Zhao, but any battle that was set to happen halted as a terrible sound resounded from Sokka.

It was an unearthly scream of deep pain and unadulterated rage, it shifted into a horrific growling roar and his body shifted with it. Feelings of wrath ran rampant within him as a red mist descended upon his vision, people could only look on in terror as his muscles bulged, tearing his clothes to scraps, his face lengthened into a snout filled with fangs as his eyes became tainted red, claws emerged from his powerful feet and hands as the fur pelt grew across his body. The werewolf gave a terrifying howl that seemed to cut into the very souls of those who heard it and then fixed its eyes upon Zhao.

The admiral shook in fear as he gazed upon the beast that had once been a Water Tribe boy he'd regarded as no danger to him, the beast snarled and then pounced and the firebender barely jumped to the side to avoid being rent open by the fearsome claws. Like lightning the werewolf swung with one of its arms, smashing the admiral with the back of its paw and sending him flying into one of the oasis' walls. Driven by sheer terror, the other nearby firebenders launched flames at the beast striking it in the back but it was a foolish move. The werewolf simply turned round and snarled at them, completely unharmed, with unnatural speed it launched itself at them and cleared them all with a single swing of an arm.

Though it happened with such speed, Zhao still managed to recover and escape and with no admiral to focus on, the beast turned its attention to the battle in the city and the other Fire Nation soldiers. It charged out of the oasis eager to wreak its vengeance upon the enemy that had dared to harm the moon.

* * *

With the sudden loss of the moon, the Water Tribe had lost both power and hope.

The waterbenders could no longer bend and were being easily pushed back by the firebenders. The Fire Nation knew that victory was in sight and they fought with ferocity and heart, determined to claim the spoils as quickly as possible. Water Tribe warriors faltered as fear gripped them, the sudden disappearance of the moon shook their confidence, their will to fight and they were starting to give in to despair.

Then they heard the howl.

It came from the palace and all eyes looked and saw an unbelievable creature standing at the top of the steps, the werewolf.

It gave another howl and bounded down into the fight, Fire Nation troops were scattered as it flung itself upon them with wild abandon, weapons shattered and bent under its immense strength, fire blast were shrugged off by the thick hide, people were flung away against walls and others ran in terror. A set of tanks moved to deal with the beast and it dived towards them, dodging fire blasts with ease, the werewolf reached one of the tanks. With a growl of anger the beast gripped it and, exerting immense strength, it flung the machine onto its side, rendering it useless.

Then, as if the werewolf were merely a herald, another mighty force joined the fight.

A great glow came from the Spirit Oasis and it grew brighter, lighting the entire city. A great fish-like being, made from water with lines of pure light running through it like veins, towered over the palace. It moved forward and came down into the streets themselves, and some people spotted the white bubble that contained Aang, his eyes and tattoos shining with power, moving along the main canal the spirit headed towards the outer wall where the Fire Navy continued the attack. Members of the Northern Water Tribe recognised the great Ocean Spirit and all bowed in deference to its power and presence, the Fire Nation attempted to attack it but were swept away by immense waves of water, tanks were thrown around like toys and with a werewolf, the Ocean Spirit and the Avatar pouring out their wrath, the Fire Nation soon began to retreat.

The werewolf made to pursue but something held it back, it looked up at the Ocean Spirit and in its brilliant glow, the red mist of rage was swept away. The Spirit and Avatar looked down upon it and as if commanded, the werewolf began to rapidly run back towards the Spirit Oasis.

It had somewhere it needed to be.

* * *

The beast arrived just as Yue gave her gift of life back to the Moon Spirit.

It shot forward and gently caught her in its arms as she collapsed backward, her life gone from her body. For endless moments it looked down upon her beautiful, still face and a single tear fell from its eyes to land upon it. A gentle glow surrounded her body and with silent grace it faded away, leaving the beast's arms empty.

It didn't notice the body of the Moon Spirit glow in Iroh's hands but it did notice the glow of the pond as the general placed the living spirit back into its waters.

The light rose from the pool and formed into Yue's form, she softly placed her ghostly hand upon the side of the beast's face and smiled sadly, "Goodbye, Sokka. I will always be with you."

She leaned forward and the beast placed its paw upon her face in mirror of her hand, gently they kissed and like a quiet stream, the werewolf melted away leaving behind Sokka as he said goodbye.

The kiss ended and as they parted Yue spoke again, "For we are both Children of the Moon."

She rose and faded and Sokka reached up to the sky as if trying to pull her back to him. His hand fell and he slumped forwards, burying his face in his hands as he wept. A gentle weight fell across his shoulders and he realised that Katara had wrapped her coat around his bare body, silently she circled her arms around him in a tight hug, giving him comfort in his grief as only she could.

In the skies above, the full moon shone down upon them.

* * *

 _ **PS-So no I didn't have Yue survive but now Katara, Aang and Iroh know what Sokka is so expect some aftermath next chapter. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	13. Deviate

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to the next chapter. As you may have guessed from the title, this chapter is going to deviate the story off-canon in a very definite manner. I'm partly doing this because several reviewers have mentioned that this hasn't been very AU so far and I agree with them, so thank you everyone for your honest reviews. In all honesty I was starting to see that I was sticking too closely to canon and now I see far more potential after choosing to deviate in this chapter. Thank you all for your support and honest reviewing and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Deviate**

Sokka stayed silent and separate from the others for several days.

The city had been badly damaged and the sacrifice of Princess Yue hung over them all, she had been greatly loved by the tribe and many were both touched and saddened by her actions during the battle. They had also fervently discussed the mighty wolf that had appeared ahead of the Avatar and theories upon what it was were passed from person to person, most thought it was a spirit, called forth by the vanishing of the moon to punish the Fire Nation for their sacrilege, but a few knew the truth.

Which was why Sokka was withdrawing away from everyone.

Chief Arnook was one of the few who knew the truth for Sokka had told him himself, he felt that he had to be the one to tell the chief about his daughter's sacrifice as it was his duty to guard her. The conversation was so personal to them both the teen could not withhold all knowledge of the event, the chief deserved to know the whole story no matter what so he told him about the beast he'd carried and how it surged forth that night.

To his surprise the chief did not grow angry or declare him a monster, but instead told him he could take all the time he needed and granted him use of a room in the palace away from Katara and Aang, an offer Sokka was glad to accept.

He hadn't spoken to neither his sister nor his friend since that night and in all honesty, he really didn't want to. After all this time they knew what lurked inside him, they'd seen for themselves the savage beast he'd hidden from them both and he was scared of what their reactions would be, but not as scared as he was of the beast itself.

He couldn't remember what he did that night, only the rage and pain as Zhao struck down the Moon Spirit, from there everything was cloaked in a red mist until he saw Yue standing with her hands on the Moon Sprit as she gave it her life. From that point, it was all as clear as day and he could remember everything, how she'd fallen back, him catching her in his arms, her fading and the last words her spectral form had said as the moon returned to the sky. The battle itself was hidden from him but listening to those who'd witnessed it made a very clear picture.

Dozens of Fire Nation soldiers had been gravely wounded by the werewolf.

Out of the ones that had been with Zhao in the oasis, three had broken limbs, two had awful gashes across their bodies and one was now paralysed from the waist down, and that was caused by one swing. Other prisoners the Water Tribe had taken revealed even more such injuries, more broken bones, more gashes, concussions, one man had had his arm crushed when the tank he was in had been flipped over, another had lost a hand and yet another had lost an eye. All were injuries caused by the werewolf as it unleashed its rage upon them and Sokka was terrified.

He'd been so out of control he could've done anything, what if the Water Tribe warriors had tried to stop the werewolf? Would it have ripped them apart as well? Would those same injuries have been found amongst his own allies? Could he have even hurt Katara? He always feared that the beast inside would one day turn on those he cared about and now he'd seen how easily it could happen.

He'd been sitting in the oasis and the sound of footsteps caused him to look up from the pool where the two fish circled, standing near him was Qimmiq and seeing he was noticed, the man slowly came over to sit down beside him.

They were silent for a moment until Sokka spoke, "You knew what I was hiding, didn't you?"

"I suspected, but I wasn't entirely sure until the invasion."

"I hurt all those people." Sokka looked back down into the pool, "I know they were Fire Nation but I still hurt them, all of them. I could've killed every single one of them."

Qimmiq gently clasped his shoulder, "But you didn't, and you may have saved a lot of lives because you acted."

"But I was out of control!" The teen waved his arms around frantically, "What if the warriors started to attack? I could've hurt them too!" He placed his head in his hands, "What if I lose control again?"

The man tightened his grip on the boy's shoulder, "Sokka, remember what I told you about werewolves and one of the reasons that people rarely encounter them?"

Sokka lifted his head out of his hands in slight confusion, "You said it was because there's only ever a couple at a time."

Qimmiq nodded, "Exactly, only ever two or three, never any more than that. However that means there is two or three in the world right now, including you."

Sokka stared as he remembered the words of the old man from the village the werewolf had saved, _'You're not alone.'_

He knew exactly what he was because he'd seen a werewolf before, that much Sokka had already guessed but maybe there was more, what if he'd actually met another werewolf, known them, spoken to them, he hadn't been afraid of him so maybe there was a chance.

Sokka stood, resolve upon his face.

If he could find another werewolf he could maybe find a way to control the beast, make it safe, make him safe. Amaruq had been the first werewolf and had been heralded as a hero, he must have had control over his beast letting him use it how he wanted to and Sokka wanted, _needed_ , to learn how to do that.

The teen turned to Qimmiq and gave him a deep bow, "Thank you."

The man simply smiled.

* * *

Sokka stood outside the door struggling with himself.

He had no idea how to approach what was ahead of him nor what he was going to say. This would be the first time he'd faced them since the invasion, since they'd seen the beast inside, how was he supposed to go about this?

He took a deep breath and slowly pushed the door open.

Both Katara and Aang were inside, Aang was playing with Momo while Katara seemed to be packing. Sokka could see that they were preparing to leave for the Earth Kingdom though it was clear that they were waiting for him to reappear.

Of course Aang was the first to see he'd entered and he jumped to his feet excitedly, "Sokka!"

Katara instantly looked up from her packing and stared at him and silence stretched out. Sokka shuffled uncomfortably, not knowing what to say, until he finally sighed and went to speak, "Katara…"

"Did Dad know?"

Katara's question cut across him and he faltered, he then looked down, "Yeah…he was there when we first found out."

She closed her eyes, "And he told you to keep it a secret."

Sokka nodded, "If the rest of the village found out…well…we didn't actually know what would happen, but Dad had his fears."

She looked up at him once more, "Did anyone else know?"

He looked away slightly, "Gran-Gran knew, though I wasn't the one who told her. I don't know if Mom ever found out, I never said anything about it."

Another silence and then Katara sighed, "I wish you could've told me yourself, instead of finding out like that."

Sokka hung his head guiltily, she'd been hurt by him keeping it secret but she understood why and had accepted it. In a way that made it worse, he would've been furious had things been the other way around and he wasn't sure he'd have come to terms with it as quickly as she had. But here she was, hurt but understanding and he wished he'd shared it with her before now. it might have made their time back home before finding Aang just that little less lonely, for both of them.

He slumped down and sat heavily upon the floor, "Me and Dad thought that the less people who knew the better, I tried hard to hide it, be a warrior that our tribe could be proud of instead of a boy who carried a beast. I occasionally went out on lone hunting trips overnight to let it out, that seemed to keep it content the rest of the time and I thought I'd found a way to deal with it." He sighed sadly, "But I hadn't, I lost control during the battle and people suffered for it." He looked up at them both, "That's why I won't be going with you to Omashu."

"What! Why!?"

It had been Aang that had yelled in surprise and knelt in front of the older boy, "We need you with us Sokka! You can't stay behind!"

"I'm not staying here Aang."

The kid blinked at him and Sokka explained his plan, "I have to find another werewolf, another person like me, if I do I may be able to find a way to control the beast inside me. Until I do that I'm too dangerous."

"We'll look for this werewolf with you!" Aang pleaded desperately.

The older boy shook his head, "No, you need to learn earthbending from King Bumi as soon as possible, we still have a time limit of the end of summer. We can't afford you to get distracted by anything else." He sighed, "Besides, without control I could really hurt or even kill either of you, it's too risky for me to stay with you."

"Your mind is made up, isn't it?"

He looked up at Katara as he answered her, "Yes, I have to do this."

She crouched down and pulled him into a hug, wordlessly he returned it and he knew she was crying even as he felt tears brimming in his own eyes. Aang threw himself at them and joined the hug and for long moments they stayed that way. When they finally separated, Aang spoke quietly, "You're still my friend Sokka."

The teen nodded thankfully, happy that Aang still accepted him. He looked to Katara and she expressed everything she needed to in one look, the way only close siblings could. He was still her brother, her family. He sighed sadly before speaking resolutely.

"I'll travel with you as far as the Earth Kingdom coast, then we'll part ways."

* * *

There had been preparations, plans and a bit of travelling but soon the Earth Kingdom was in sight.

They'd gone partway on a Northern Water Tribe ship heading to the Sourthern Tribe along with a few others to help rebuild and defend it. Master Pakku was leading the ships and he'd bestowed gifts upon Aang and Katara, Aang got several waterbending scrolls to help with his training and Katara got a phial of special water from the Spirit Oasis. Sokka didn't receive any gifts from the Waterbending Master but he'd already been given something by Chief Arnook and Qimmiq.

" _This is for you Sokka."_

 _The teen took a bundle of cloth from the old warrior and found that it was two sets of clothes made in his size. They were traditional Water Tribe blue but, unlike his previous clothing, lacked sleeves. They were adorned with a pattern that invoked the ocean with the moon at its centre which had been skilfully stitched into the garments, the boots bore a similar pattern but were more like sandals than traditional Water Tribe boots. Everything seemed to be made from a similar material and Sokka wasn't sure what that material was._

 _As the boy examined them, Qimmiq explained what they were, "These garments have been made through rare techniques that I found in our old records, they were originally designed for Amaruq himself and were apparently meant to stretch to fit both his human and beast form. If they work then they won't tear like your previous clothes whenever you become the beast." He gripped Sokka's shoulders, "Be careful out there." He smiled fondly, "I know you'll learn how to be a true werewolf."_

 _Chief Arnook nodded, "I commissioned the pattern for you personally, Qimmiq tells me that werewolves have always been Water Tribe so it is only fitting that you bear the pattern of our two Great Spirits." He smiled, "I know Yue will always watch over you."_

Sokka looked down at the new clothes he wore and smiled at the memory, he'd spoken a lot with Aang and Katara about everything he learned from Qimmiq so now they both knew as much as he did. They had both accepted that he had to do this search without them but they all wished that it had taken just a bit longer to reach the Earth Kingdom.

Regardless they soon reached the coast and Aang guided Appa down onto the high cliffs that stood against the ocean. Grabbing his pack, Sokka dismounted and took a few steps away, the other two followed and he turned back to face them, "So, this is it."

Their faces fell and Aang spoke sadly, "I know you have to do this but…I still don't really like it."

Katara smiled sadly, "Be careful, alright." She sniffed, "I won't be around to pull you out of any of your 'Sokka' messes."

He smiled back, "You too."

Aang grinned, determined to cheer them all up, "Don't worry, we'll all see each other again no problem!"

Katara and Sokka gave small laughs at that and the older teen grinned back, "Of course, I promised to help you win this war and I'm sticking to that." He looked thoughtful for a moment, "Even better, I'm making another promise."

They both looked up at him and he grinned even wider, "Avatar or not we'll need the Earth Kingdom's forces to defeat the Fire Nation which means we need the Earth King's support. I promise to meet you both in Ba Sing Se before the end of spring to make that happen!"

They both stared in surprise for a moment then smiled as Katara answered, "We're going to hold you to that."

They all laughed together until Sokka held out his arms, without hesitation, Aang and Katara hugged him together and they held it for several moments. Reluctantly, they broke apart and the Avatar and the waterbender remounted Appa, the sky bison nuzzled Sokka and treated him to a huge lick before rumbling sadly as Momo flew down and quickly cuddled the teen's neck. Once the lemur had flown back up to the others Aang called down to Sokka, "We'll see you in Ba Sing Se."

Katara waved down at him, "Stay safe Sokka!"

He waved back, "I will!"

Slowly, Appa took to the sky and flew away towards Omashu, Sokka stood and waved until they were out of sight. Sighing, he adjusted his pack and strode off inland, eager to start his search.

He'd find another werewolf…somewhere.

* * *

 _ **PS-So Sokka is heading off on his own, what is he going to find? In terms of Aang and Katara, I'm not going to be looking at their adventures since this is entirely Sokka-centric. Basically they'll go as similarly as they can to their canon counter-parts while missing Sokka, at some point I may do another fic that shows those adventures but not right now. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	14. A Lead

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to the first part of Sokka's lone journey. Thank you everyone for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **A Lead**

It had been strange for Sokka travelling by himself.

He had become so used to being with Aang and Katara he'd forgotten what it was like to be properly by himself. Before finding Aang he'd often gone on lone hunting trips, and not just to let the beast out, but he'd not actually ever spent several days travelling by himself.

In a way it was kind of fun, he stopped when he wanted to, ate when he wanted to and only had to find food for himself. That being said it was still lonely and he missed the banter he had with the others, even if it had been annoying at the time.

He shook his head slightly, yes it was lonely but he had to do take this journey, he had promised to meet them in Ba Sing Se and he intended to stick to that. Hopefully by the time they met he'd have found a way to control the beast.

He pulled out a map (yet another gift from Chief Arnook) from his backpack and studied it. He'd been making good progress considering he was travelling by foot and he was approaching the abbey where they'd found Bato, he was hoping the sisters there might have some leads for him. The nature of the place meant that travellers passed through there a lot and there was a chance one of them might've passed on a story or some news he could follow up on, even if it was just a rumour or two it would be a place to start. Rolling up the map, he put it back in his pack and increased his pace slightly, if things went well he'd reach the abbey before sunset.

* * *

As planned he walked through the abbey gate just before sunset and he saw the Mother Superior hurrying towards him.

"Sokka! I am slightly surprised to see you here."

Sokka politely bowed to her and she returned the greeting before glancing up the path behind him, "Your sister and the Avatar, are they following behind you?"

He shook his head, "No Mother Superior, they are currently on their way to Omashu. We split up because I have some business that I needed to attend to alone, I'm planning to meet up with them when I'm done."

She smiled, "Either way you are welcome to stay here for as long as you need, please let us know if there is anything we can help you with."

Sokka returned the smile gratefully, "Thank you. I'm actually looking for something in particular, have you or the other abbey sisters ever heard of a powerful wolf-like creature?"

She frowned slightly, "I'm afraid we have not." She looked thoughtful, "But there currently is a group of Earth Kingdom travellers staying here, they're sailing south and stopped in for supplies, they might've heard something of this wolf you're looking for."

He grinned, "Could I possibly speak to them?"

The Mother Superior gestured towards the main building, "Certainly, they are eating in the dining hall. You can speak to them over a good meal."

His grin grew, "Information and food? I'm there!"

* * *

The dining hall was exactly as its name suggested, it was a large hall with several tables where the abbey sisters ate.

There were quite a few of the sisters partaking in the meal and were scattered around the room in small groups, however there was a slightly larger group of people who were clearly the Earth Kingdom travellers and the Mother Superior led Sokka over to them. There were six in total, four men and two women, and they all broke off from their own conversation when they saw people approaching them. The Mother Superior gestured to one of the women, "This is Aoyun." Sokka bowed in greeting as the Mother Superior introduced him, "Aoyun, this is Sokka, he's from the Southern Water Tribe and was hoping you might have some information for him."

The woman was tall and lithe, her long black hair was largely loose but strands of it had been braided with beads, her clothes were more akin to light armour and were clearly designed to be practical. She stood and eyed Sokka, "Southern Water Tribe huh? You're a pretty long way from the South Pole kid."

"What are ye doing all the way up here?"

The one who'd spoken was a large bulky man, his brown hair was done up in traditional Earth Kingdom style and he wore a simple green tunic that showed off his bulging muscles. Beside him was a man of similar height but with less bulk, his black hair was cut short and his tunic was patterned and long sleeved, he spoke next, "I thought most of your tribe was fighting in the war."

Sokka shrugged slightly, "They are but I got left behind when they left home two years ago, I'm actually searching for something."

"How fascinating, a Water Tribe child searching the world alone. Are you searching for great power, riches, enlightenment, or perhaps some answers for deep questions within?"

This was the second woman, unlike Aoyun her head was covered by a hood, her clothes were flowing robes stitched with mystical patterns and in Earth Kingdom green. Her nails were delicately polished and she stared at Sokka in an unnerving way. The two men beside her were completely identical, both wore short sleeved tunics and their brown hair was loose though they had a single braid hanging down the side of their faces. They spoke alternately, "Don't mind her."

"Yeah, she's always doing her whole 'mystical' thing."

Aoyun smiled slightly and gestured to an empty seat, "Why don't you join us kid? I'll make the introductions." As Sokka sat she began pointing to the various people, "This is Dachuan and beside him is Fei." The bulky man smiled as the other nodded and Aoyun continued, "Our resident 'mystic' is Zhijian and the twins are Ping and Pong."

As the other woman bowed her head he twins grinned, "Our mother…"

"...just couldn't resist."

Aoyun looked at him, "So kid, now that's all done with. What were you wanting to ask us about?"

A plate of food was placed in front of him and Sokka thanked the abbey sister that put it there before answering, "Well you guys are travellers and have obviously been all over, so I was wondering if you'd maybe heard anything on your travels about a large wolf-like creature, or even a wolf-like man?"

Dachuan folded his arms, "A large wolf-like creature or man? Can't say I have."

Fei nodded, "We've encountered wolves before but I'm guessing that's not what you mean."

Sokka shook his head, "It wouldn't be an actual wolf, it would be a lot bigger and possibly both wolf and man at the same time."

"You mean it's a werewolf?" Zhijian had leaned forward and was staring at him intensely, "You are looking for one that is both man and beast."

The twins looked surprised, "But werewolves…"

"...are just made up."

Aoyun frowned, "Why are you looking for something that's only a story?"

Sokka looked around at them all, "Wait, you guys have heard of werewolves before? I thought they were only known about by the Water Tribes."

Fei shrugged, "Many travellers have claimed to have encountered a werewolf, though that was years ago during our parents time. No one really believes it to be anything but a story to be told round a campfire, it was possibly originally told by a Water Tribe traveller and spread."

"Well even a story would be useful, I kind of have no leads and I need somewhere to start."

Aoyun's frown deepened, "But why are you looking for one? It's a strange thing for a kid like you to be searching for."

Sokka hesitated slightly, wondering how best to answer without saying too much, but Zhijian made it so he didn't have to, "Curiosity is a strange thing Aoyun, I'm sure he has his reasons but there's no need for him to share them with us."

Dachuan gave a little huff of amusement, "Mysterious as always Zhijian, but you're right." He then looked thoughtful, "Thinking about it, I remember someone mentioning werewolves more recently, some professor guy…"

"Professor Zei." One of the twins supplied.

"He said he'd seen one out in the desert." The other finished.

Sokka looked at them in confusion, "Professor who?"

"Professor Zei." Aoyun answered, "We've met him a few times before at Misty Palms Oasis, he's spent years travelling into the desert in the south looking for some lost library."

Fei took up the explanation, "Last time we were there he claimed he'd seen a great beast striding the Si Wong Desert, he said it shifted back into a person right in front of his eyes but when he tried to follow it he couldn't, it disappeared."

"It was likely just a mirage caused by the heat." Dachuan stated, "I've been in that desert before and the heat can cause you to see all sorts of weird things."

Sokka grinned, "But it's the best and only lead I've got, looks like I'm heading for Si Wong Desert!"

The group stared at him stunned and the twins spoke with slight awe, "You're actually think it's true?"

"And you're going to the desert to find out?"

Sokka shrugged, "Yep, I need to find a werewolf and the desert seems to be a good place to start."

Aoyun smirked, "I have to admit, I like your determination." She eyed him, "I'm pretty sure nothing we say is going to change your mind, you're following this story regardless of how likely it is to be real." She smiled, "We may as well give you a lift."

"Huh?"

Her smile grew at his bewildered look, "The Si Wong Desert is way down in the southern third of the Earth Kingdom, it would take ages for you to get there on foot. That and Misty Palms Oasis where the professor usually embarks from is south of the desert, you'd have to cross the desert to get there. We have a ship and we're heading south by sea tomorrow, come with us and we can take you as far as Gaoling. It's on the southern coast so you can make your way to Misty Palms from there, the whole trip will be far quicker for you."

Sokka stood excitedly, "You'd really take me there?"

She shrugged, "We're heading that direction anyway so we may as well take you." She looked at him seriously, "Don't expect a pleasure cruise though, you'll have to pull your weight while travelling with us."

He grinned eagerly, "That's fine by me!"

She smiled, "Then you're more than welcome to join us."

* * *

The next day they were all up bright and early ready to start the voyage.

The traveller's ship was a small vessel that was a perfect size for the six-person crew and it held a decent cargo that Aoyun said they were going to trade on the way. Sokka eagerly helped them prepare the ship and found that it wasn't too different from the Water Tribe ones he'd helped sail before, he soon fell into sync with the others and it wasn't long before they were all set to go.

Carrying supplies given to them by the abbey sisters they set sail with Sokka waving goodbye to the Mother Superior who'd come to the beach to see them off. Soon the abbey faded into the distance as they headed out to sea and turned southwards towards Gaoling and the Si Wong Desert.

Sokka hoped he'd find a werewolf there.

* * *

 _ **PS-So Sokka's off to Gaoling and then the desert, with a bit of help from some OCs. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	15. Other Spiritual Side

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and here is the next chapter. A little bit of deepness in this one as Sokka continues his voyage south as well as a little more info on the crew he's travelling with. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Other Spiritual Side**

Sokka soon felt at home with Aoyun's crew as they sailed southward.

They were very close-knit and each seemed to instinctively know their role in the crew. Aoyun was effectively their captain, though they never actually called her that she had a say in most of what happened aboard the ship and decided on their route. As a leader she was stern but fair, she did not abide with laziness and expected all on board her ship to do their bit within their abilities. She got on well with all the crew provided they were doing their jobs and since they all did that made her pretty friendly. However Sokka had a suspicion that because of his youth he was getting some slight preferential treatment, nothing obvious but he always seemed to get the jobs that were as fun as they were important and he generally enjoyed doing (such as fishing). In a way it made sense, he was the only teen on board a ship of adults so it wasn't that surprising they treated him slightly differently.

Strangely enough the next youngest aboard at twenty-two was Dachuan (a surprise since he was the biggest guy there), and he largely handled a lot of the heavy lifting tasks befitting his, frankly, ridiculous strength. He was also in possession of a beautiful baritone voice that, according to the twins, he'd inadvertently wooed women from Omashu to Ba Sing Se with, if any music struck up while sailing then Dachuan would be the first one up and singing whatever song, ballad or ditty was being played.

Fei was the ship's acrobat (for want of a better description), he was usually the one that would shimmy up the mast to deal with the sail or ropes or to scan the horizon. Often he would descend to the deck through a series of death defying drops, leaps and swings that made Sokka gape the first time he saw it. Noticing his audience, Fei would then do it in an even more spectacular way the next time and it wasn't until a while later that Sokka discovered he had in fact once been in a circus

Zhijian was kind of the ship's mother, on top of being the mystic/spiritual consultant/fortune teller (earning them a small income in port), and she attended to most of the laundry, needle-work, healing and other jobs that, according to her, 'men could not do even if the spirits infused the knowledge of such things into their very souls'. Her work was highly valued, especially by Sokka who would admit he'd have been a bit stuffed now that Katara wasn't around to do such things for him (when it came to housekeeping-type jobs, he really sucked).

Finally came the twins, who were effectively one entity. They took full advantage of being identical so you never knew which one was which, not even Aoyun could tell them apart so you had no idea whether the one you could see was Ping or Pong. This led to them being referred to as 'twins' when addressing both or the simple 'oi, you' when addressing one. They filled in the gaps everywhere else, acting as sort of jacks-of-all-trades around the ship and generally helping out where needed.

In short they were a lot of fun to travel with and it reminded Sokka of the few times he'd gone with his dad and the other men out fishing on the ships before they'd gone to war. It had been hard work but you knew how to have a laugh as you did it making it more fun than anything else. Of course it had been over two years ago and they hadn't been at sea for as long as he was going to be now but this crew made him feel nostalgic for those times. He had told the crew stories of those trips and they'd been eager to hear them though they became far more interested in his recent travels when they discovered he'd been travelling with the Avatar.

And so time passed in a generally enjoyable way.

* * *

As they continued south, Sokka could feel the beast inside becoming restless.

It was a long way off from wanting to come forward but it still sometimes woke him at night and made it difficult for him to sleep again. It was one such night when he decided to head out on deck for some air.

Lowering himself out of his hammock (such a comfortable thing to sleep in), he padded out of the large cabin below decks the men all shared and headed up onto deck. When the ship was sailing there would always be someone on watch steering the vessel, they all took turns during the night though Sokka usually went on watch with someone like Dachuan or Fei. As such he wasn't surprised to find someone at the wheel, however he hadn't been expecting that person to be Zhijian.

He'd never actually seen her doing any of the on deck work before and had assumed that she just didn't do it but now it was clear that she could at least steer the ship if needed. He stopped for a moment in surprise and she briefly smiled at him, "Your restless spirit is making sleep elusive for you tonight."

It was a statement but Sokka nodded anyway, "Yeah, something like that."

He made his way up to the stern and leaned on the side rail to look up at the night sky, Zhijian continued to steer nearby, seemingly content to stay in silence as she kept her gaze upon the restless seas ahead. Sokka's gaze fell, as always, upon the moon, it was in a crescent instead of full but still it eased the beast inside slightly and he gave a small smile.

"It appears the moon eases your spirit slightly."

He turned to Zhijian in confusion and she briefly turned and looked at him before focusing ahead again, he frowned slightly, "What do you mean?"

There was a long silence before she finally answered, "I was born with a special gift. I can, to an extent, 'see' the spirits of others. This gift is the reason the others say I'm a mystic, I cannot explain it but I can just sense things about people I meet." She gave a small chuckle, "Helpful when playing the role of a fortune-teller, though I do try to use what can sense about a person to make an accurate guess as to their future." She briefly looked at him again, "I've met many people in my time but never have I encountered a spirit like yours before, it's almost…wild, but in a natural, good way. Its invigorated and adventurous, primal and simple, content with the joy of sprinting across open plains and fields, diving through forests and leaping across boulders simply because it can." She smiled, "Not the side of the spiritual many people consider."

"'Side of the spiritual'?" It seemed that Zhijian had similar spiritual training to Aang and Sokka had to admit he was curious, it might give him more clues.

The woman's smile grew slightly and she explained, "When I was younger I spent some time learning from a great guru, he had long followed the ways of the Air Nomads and was one of the most spiritual men I've ever met. He told me that the calmness and tranquillity brought about through meditation was only a part of a whole spiritual reality. Spirit and nature are inextricably tied together and while serene peace was indeed a great thing, the wilder aspect of nature was not to be forgotten. The beasts and birds could never achieve spiritual tranquillity like man but that doesn't make them any less connected to spirits, they simply align more to a more primal spiritual-ness. This primal side is the side of nature, of the hunt, the exertion of strength and power and the energy that invigorates life. It is active and unpredictable, the response to the emotions and instincts that drive us, pushing us and the world forward."

She nodded gently, "The Air Nomads were a wise, gentle people, who had learnt so much about the peace and tranquillity one could have, however this meant that they had become distant from the primitive side that fuels progress. If everyone followed their ways the world would be a lot more peaceful, but it would ultimately stagnate and freeze in place. Wilder spirits are needed to move it along, to balance out tranquillity. While such spirits can be unpredictable and dangerous, they are what let us continue growing and changing, even if terrible things occur as a result."

Sokka looked down and frowned, "Why are you telling me all this?"

She looked at him once more, "Because your spirit embodies that primal side and I believe you fear it in a way. There is nothing to fear from it as it is as much a part of nature as anything else, you finding and travelling with the Avatar is no accident and your wild spirit is a part of that destiny. One day you will understand that yourself."

They fell into silence as Sokka pondered everything she'd said, he turned and looked back up at the moon, silently asking Yue for her guidance, but no grand answer materialised for him. His eyes fell to the dark horizon and as they gazed out over the waters he spotted a shape against the multitude of stars that met the ocean, he narrowed his eyes.

"Is that a ship heading our way?"

* * *

Aoyun had been awoken by Sokka upon seeing the ship but it wasn't until dawn finally came that they saw what kind of ship it was.

Aoyun inhaled sharply as she lowered the telescope away from her eye, "It's them."

The rest of the crew had also woken up and Fei frowned at her statement, "Great, just what we needed."

Zhijian nodded, "This does not bode well."

Sokka looked between them, "Who are they?"

It was Dachuan who answered, a grim look on his face, "Pirates, this particular group often target ships that travel this route."

Fei continued, "They don't go for a full raid and sinking but instead exhort goods out of ships in return for letting them go on their way unharmed. The Earth Kingdom doesn't have many warships of their own to deal with them and the Fire Nation doesn't care as long as they leave their ships alone, as far as they're concerned, the more goods lost by Earth Kingdom ships the better."

Aoyun sighed, "I was hoping we'd avoid them this time but it can't be helped now, if we run or resist they'll overrun the ship and kill us all, we just have to hope I can sweet talk them into taking as little as possible." She turned to them all, "Everyone, furl sail and slow us down, we'll let them aboard and maybe that'll put them in a lenient mood. Zhijian, go whip up some of your best food, you know how much they like your cooking. Ping, Pong, take stock of our full cargo, make sure you don't miss anything and give me a list of all our goods as soon as possible. Sokka, give them a hand, I know you Water Tribe people prefer to put up a fight but that'll only go badly for us so please just do as I say."

Sokka nodded, he understood her reasons and respected them, the pirate ship was blatantly bigger than theirs so it didn't take a genius to work out they would lose. Better to lose some cargo and go on their way than to lose their lives.

Following the twins he headed off to the cargo hold.

* * *

It took a bit of time to take stock of everything.

Though it was a small ship they tried to carry as many goods as they could, meaning the hold was full to the brim. Also they were being very thorough in their check, as the twins explained, sometimes the pirates checked the cargo themselves and if they found anything that hadn't been mentioned they would accuse them of hiding it. That of course would not end well and they were doing their absolute best to not upset the pirates.

Sokka personally hoped they wouldn't take an interest in any of his personal belongings, his boomerang was important to him and he was aware that it was a fairly unique item. His clothes were also unique and were potentially worth quite a bit of money if sold, that would be of interest to pirates and he really didn't want to give them up.

He shoved a crate back into place as one of the twins finished scribbling something onto a piece of parchment, he handed it to Sokka, "Well that's everything, we've double and triple checked so I'm certain we've not missed something. Why don't you take the list up to Aoyun, though be careful…I think the pirates are already aboard."

They'd heard scrapings and bangings from above earlier so it was likely that the man was right, Aoyun was probably already talking with whoever was in charge of the boarding party. Sokka nodded, "Will do."

The twin grinned worriedly, "Hopefully they won't want much from us this time, none of it is actually that valuable."

Nodding again, Sokka hastened up the ladder to the deck and stuck his head out of the hatch.

And then froze.

Aoyun was several feet away talking to the pirate captain who was backed by a bunch of his cronies, the rest of the crew, minus Zhijian, were standing on the opposite side of the ship looking on nervously. Now having several pirates on the same ship as you was bad enough but that wasn't what made Sokka freeze where he was, instead he'd frozen because he'd seen these particular pirates, this particular captain and that particular green, reptile-bird before during a certain event involving a waterbending scroll.

Not good.

He was about to turn and retreat back into the hold to give one of the twins the list instead when one of the pirates noticed him, the pirate then nudged the one beside him who then quickly muttered in the captain's ear. Before Sokka could duck out of sight, the captain turned his gaze upon him. The man's previous smirk morphed instantly into a black look of rage and Sokka involuntarily gulped.

Looked like he remembered the waterbending scroll as well.

* * *

 _ **PS-Next time, pirates! Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	16. Pirates, Escapes and Other Oddities

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter. We see what happens when Sokka meets the pirates once more and a couple of other unusual events occur. Thank you all for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Pirates, Escapes and Other Oddities**

Before he knew it, Sokka found himself grabbed by his shirt and held aloft by the (really big) pirate captain as the man snarled at him.

"You!"

Sokka grinned nervously, "Umm…hey there."

The captain brought him down so they were basically nose to nose, "You and your friends did me out of a huge fortune when you stole that scroll and wrecked my ship, it took everything we had to replace it." He unceremoniously dumped Sokka on the deck and towered over him threateningly, "Now where's the girl and the Avatar?"

Sokka carefully stood, "I actually don't know, we split up some time ago. They could be anywhere by now."

For a second time his shirt was grabbed by the captain, "We'll see about that." He snapped out orders to his crew, "Search the ship! If they're hiding then I want them found!"

It took the pirate crew very little time to search the small ship and soon they reported back to their captain, "No sign of them, there's no way they're here."

The captain's features turned into a snarl then into a smirk, he roughly shoved Sokka backward, where the teen was grabbed by two bulky pirates, and addressed Aoyun, "You're in luck woman, we'll let your ship go with all its cargo aboard, instead we'll be taking this boy." He sneered at Sokka, "You'll be useful in helping us get the Avatar."

Sokka's eyes widened, "But they could be anywhere in the world by now!"

The captain walked away carelessly, "Then get used to being aboard my ship. I'm going to find your friends and make them pay. No matter how long it takes!"

With that Sokka was hauled off by the pirates and he only managed a quick glance back at Aoyun and her crew who stood there watching, unable to do much to prevent what was happening.

* * *

Being a captive was distinctly boring.

After his kidnapping, Sokka had been dragged into an empty room in the pirate ship's hold and left there. Having nothing else around and him being tied up meant that his options were kind of limited, hence, boredom.

It was slightly alleviated by the fact that the beast inside him was very restless, it wanted nothing more than to come out, beat the pirates senseless and leave it at that but Sokka wasn't letting it. There were a couple of practical reasons for this. One, he was stuck on a ship in the middle of the ocean, even if he beat all the pirates he couldn't sail the ship by himself and he certainly couldn't escape from it while at sea. Two, there was no way he could successfully keep an entire crew controlled once he'd beaten them, nowhere aboard would big enough to lock them away and it wouldn't take long for them to retake their ship, especially since he knew how tired he became after letting the beast out. The third reason was why he'd let the pirates take him in the first place, he did not want to release the beast if he could help it. He remembered all too well what he'd heard the werewolf had done at the North Pole and as far as he was concerned, a repeat of that was not acceptable. It was part of the reason he'd separated from Aang and Katara in the first place, he could not be that out of control.

The sound of voices attracted Sokka's attention and he listened in.

"Do ye think we'll make good money here?"

"Unlikely, we didn't hit many ships this time and the last one we only got that brat."

"And the Captain aint selling him, wants to use him against the Avatar."

"Yeah, as soon as we're done in this port we'll be shipping after whatever rumours about his whereabouts the Captain can dig up. It won't be pretty when he finds him."

The voices faded away as the conversing pirates walked off and Sokka felt the beginnings of a plan form in his mind.

If they were in port then now was a good time to slip away, if he got this right then he could escape the ship and vanish into the crowds before his captors realised he'd gone. He could hide out of town until they were forced to give up looking for him, leaving him in the clear.

Firstly he'd have to get rid of his bonds.

He focused on his bound hands first and wriggled them around to try and loosen the knots, he made little headway. He'd slipped ropes like this before when Jet's men had caught him listening on their plans, however it seemed that the pirates where far better at knot-work than Jet's band. No matter what he tried the rope just wouldn't loosen and he growled in frustration, he needed his hands free if he was going to do anything! In anger, he tried to forcefully separate his hands but he didn't really expect that to do anything.

Then the rope snapped.

Now Sokka was fully aware that the rope had been pretty strong, he did not have the strength to snap it that easily so the fact he had done so was surprising. Putting it aside for the time being, he set about undoing the rope tying his legs together and slowly stood on his, rather numb, feet. Taking a moment to let feeling get back into his feet, he stole over to the door and pressed his ear to its wooden timbers. Silence greeted him and after a few minutes he gently tested to door to find it locked, he peered through the crack and saw that it was a simple bolt on the outside locking him in and he stepped back to think about how best to get past it. His eyes fell on the snapped rope and he eyed the door thoughtfully, it might be worth a shot.

He placed his hands on the door, right where the bolt was on the other side, then in one sharp motion, he brought them back and forward to smack the door right where they'd been placed, there was a quick pinging noise and the door swung open creakily.

Sokka cautiously poked his head out and listened but it seemed no one had heard the noise and he looked at the bolt, he'd caused it to snap cleanly and let him out and he marvelled at the strength he didn't realise he had as a human. He pushed the door shut once more and slipped carefully up towards the deck.

* * *

Things went well and soon Sokka found himself in the hold where the pirates sold the items they stole.

No one was about and he took the chance to find what little he'd had on him when he'd been kidnapped. Most of his things had been left on Aoyun's ship but he had been carrying his boomerang and money pouch which were promptly taken off him. After a bit of rifling around he found his boomerang in its holder and all that was left was his money, he looked without success and was about to assume the money had been thrown in with the pirates own when he spotted his pouch on the table at one end of the room. Hurrying over he quickly opened it to find everything there, grinning, he hung it back on his belt and turned towards the exit onto the deck.

And saw a gang of pirates.

The captain was leading the group and he smirked at Sokka, "Leaving so soon?"

Sokka assessed his situation nervously, there was no way he could fight his way through all of those men as himself, he would be overwhelmed in seconds. He had a slight advantage in that the Captain likely still wanted him alive but alive did not mean 'unharmed', if they caught him they'd make sure he couldn't escape a second time and he had no doubt he would not like how they did that in any way whatsoever.

Of course there was another option that would mean he'd almost definitely win but not without other risks. The werewolf could beat the pirates no problem but there was no guarantee it would stop there, if they were in port then there was a whole town of people who'd likely panic and even attack if they saw it, he could end up hurting a lot of innocent people.

Unfortunately, the pirates didn't give him time to come up with a better option.

As one, the whole gang charged him and he felt the beast surging forward, in a panic, he tried to force it back down but the pirates were upon him forcing him to react instinctively. He lashed out with his arm and suddenly the pirates were sent flying away from him, some striking walls while others landed in heaps upon the floor. He glanced down at his arm in shock.

His very furry arm.

Somehow, and he had no idea how, his arm had transformed but not the rest of him. The rest of his body was completely human but his right arm was the werewolf's, complete with claws and immense strength.

He heard a thunk and he looked up to see that the captain had dropped his weapon and was backing away in fear, "What are you?"

Seeing his chance, Sokka answered by charging at him. In moments he was across the hold and right before the captain, in one fluid motion he grabbed the man with his werewolf arm, spun round, and flung him across the room. As the captain landed in a heap, Sokka sprinted up the stairs to the deck.

It was the middle of the night and he glanced around the deck to see only a couple of pirates about, they charged him but his arm soon rendered them unconscious on the floor, Sokka grimaced slightly but he knew that he hadn't done any permanent damage to them, unlike at the North Pole. Checking that the deck was clear, his eyes fell on the mast and a sudden idea came to him. He bounded over to it and swung his claws at its base, he was rewarded with several deep gouges in the wood and he swung at it again. Over and over he slashed at the mast until he'd cut away much of its base, then he slammed his body against it and pushed with all his might. With an almighty groaning and cracking, the entire mast slowly shifted and began to fall, it came down with a crash right upon the ship's stern, crushing the steering wheel, and shook the whole ship as it fell.

The ship would not be going anywhere for a while.

Sokka felt exhaustion creep in and then a weird sensation as his arm fluidly shifted back into a human one, panting heavily he gazed down at his reverted arm until he remembered that he had to get away from the ship before the pirates recovered. With great effort he stumbled over to the gangplank and onto the, thankfully, deserted dock, unsure of where to go next he staggered along the harbour, trying to put as much distance between him and pirates as he could. As he stumbled past an alleyway some way along, a hand shot out and roughly dragged him into it, his yelp of surprise was quickly muffled by a large hand as a familiar voice spoke quietly, "Don't worry Sokka, it's just us."

Sokka's eyes widened briefly as he recognised that it was Dachuan who'd grabbed him, behind him was Fei and Aoyun and the woman spoke as Dachuan let him go, "We were all set to try and rescue you kid, but you escaped before we could." She shook her head in bewilderment, "How'd you even do it?"

Fei cut across urgently, "Never mind that now! We should get back to the ship and sail out of here before the pirates' notice he's gone and start hunting for him!"

Aoyun nodded, "You're right. They might suspect us and chase after our ship, we need to get as far away from here as possible."

His exhaustion finally taking hold, Sokka slumped against the wall and Dachuan spoke to him in concern, "Sokka, you alright?"

The teen nodded, "Just really tired, escaping took a lot out of me."

Wordlessly Dachuan picked him up and held him bridal style, Aoyun smiled in approval and began leading the way back to her ship, "Let's go!"

As they hurried through the deserted streets, Sokka felt his tiredness grow until he could no longer fight it. Letting his eyes fall shut, he fell into slumber.

* * *

When he woke up he was in his hammock on Aoyun's ship and he could tell from the sounds and motion of the ship that they were back at sea.

He looked down at his now completely human arm, had he really caused himself to only partly let the beast out? His arm had changed but the rest of him stayed as…well…him. He was completely in control of his actions but still had all the strength he needed, was this part of being in control of his beast?

He looked up from his arm, it was another thing he'd have to find out when he found another werewolf.

Yawning, he lowered himself out of the hammock and stumbled sleepily over to the door. Sticking his head outside, he saw Dachuan and Fei attending to the ship with one of the twins helping them, Fei spotted him and called out good-humouredly, "There he is! The kid who ruined our grand, highly stealthy, rescue plan by escaping on his own." He grinned, "How are you feeling?"

Sokka rubbed his eyes, "Still tired."

Aoyun's voice came from beside him, "You should go get some food from Zhijian in the galley, I doubt those pirate jerks bothered to feed you properly."

The teen at her and nodded, "Okay." He then smiled gratefully, "Thank you for coming to rescue me, I know it was a huge risk on your part."

She shrugged, "It was nothing, you did the hard bit all by yourself." She then smiled, "Besides, on this voyage you're a member of the crew, and we don't abandon crew members." She frowned, "Though we're now going to have to keep an eye out for them following us, they'll likely think we had something to do with your escape."

Sokka's grinned widely, "Actually they won't be able to follow anyone for a while, their mast is completely broken."

She stared at him in shock then grinned as well, "Perfect, by the time they repair it we'll be way too far away for them to catch up." She leaned forward towards him, "However, you owe us an explanation as to how you, your sister and the Avatar managed to upset those pirates that much."

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Well it was mostly Katara's fault."

Aoyun shoved him in the direction of the galley, "You can give us the whole story later kid, just go get something to eat from Zhijian and then give the guys a hand up here."

Sokka smiled and saluted, "Yes mam!"

She jokingly pretended to kick his backside in annoyance, "Less of the 'mam'! It makes me feel old."

Laughing, Sokka dodged the kick and hurried off to the galley.

* * *

 _ **PS-So a slightly different transformation for Sokka there. I think we'll reach the end of Sokka's sea voyage next chapter as they reach Gaoling and he continues his journey. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	17. Gaoling

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter. Sokka arrives in Gaoling this time around and starts the next stage of his journey to the desert. Thank you for your continued support of this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Gaoling**

It had been a fun, enjoyable voyage but it was now coming to an end, Gaoling was in sight and Sokka knew that he'd part ways with Aoyun and her crew there.

Gaoling itself was actually a little further inland but Gaoling Docks was where most of its incoming and outgoing goods passed through. Ships would berth there and sell their cargo to store owners who'd take the goods inland to the actual town a mile or two away.

Once Aoyun's ship had docked Sokka leaned on the side-rail looking at the port sadly.

He was going to miss being with Aoyun and her crew, they'd only been sailing together for a short time but they'd welcomed him warmly and treated him like family. It reminded him of what it had been like when his dad and the other warriors had been around.

Someone came up beside him and looked round to see it was Zhijian, the woman nodded towards the shore, "Are you ready to find your answers?"

He fixed his eyes on the mountains behind Gaoling that bordered the Si Wong Desert, "Yeah, I am."

She smiled, "Then you have nothing to fear." She looked at him directly, "Though I cannot truly divine the future I have a certainty that you'll succeed. You have something special, your unique spirit is something to be treasured. I know you fear it but please believe me when I say you do not have to, one day you'll see it as a great gift."

There were footsteps from behind them and they turned to see Aoyun approaching, she grinned at Sokka, "Well kid, we're here. I guess we'll be saying goodbye soon." Sokka looked down sadly and she gave him a friendly whack on the shoulder, "Don't look so down kid! While I'd love for you to stay and travel with us, you've got to finish your journey and meet up with your sister and the Avatar, you did promise them after all."

He looked up and smiled, "Yeah I did." He bowed, "Thank you for everything."

She waved him off, "Don't worry about it! You were a big help to us during the trip and your stories were pretty entertaining to hear." She tapped him on the head, "Just don't go upsetting anymore pirates on your way, it'll make life pretty difficult for you if you do."

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "I'll try my best."

Her smile returned, "Good to hear. By the way, I think I have a way you might get a bit more info on that werewolf you're looking for."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you see I have a delivery arrangement with one of the biggest names in Gaoling, Lao Bei Fong. I'm supposed to be having dinner with him tonight at his home to discuss a trade deal and I can take one guest with me. He has a few connections that might've found information you could use, if you come with me you could find out."

"You think he could help?"

She shrugged, "Maybe, even if there's nothing about werewolves specifically he'll know about towns and villages you can stop at as you travel over the mountains, some of his tradesmen will have travelled there at some point."

Sokka thought for a moment then nodded, "That would be good to know, thanks Aoyun."

Aoyun grinned once more, "Don't mention it."

* * *

That night, he and Aoyun were welcomed at the Bei Fong estate.

Aoyun had dressed for the occasion, swapping out her practical clothes for a more elegant outfit. Sokka was wearing the clothes he'd received from Qimmiq as always but they'd been thoroughly scrubbed and washed by Zhijian, she'd also attacked his hair with a comb in an attempt to smarten him up even more and hovered around him for ages until she was satisfied he was at the standards a meal with such high class people required.

It had been hard saying goodbye to all the others, Sokka was staying at the home of the Bei Fong's that night so he wouldn't be returning to the ship. Fei had broken down crying as Dachuan had given him a bone crushing hug, the twins clapped him on the shoulders as Zhijian simply nodded farewell. Reluctantly, Sokka waved goodbye and went with Aoyun to Gaoling and then to the Bei Fong estate.

The whole arrival process was very formal, with guards and servants bowing them down the hallways as they made their way to the dining room. Lao Bei Fong was there with his wife to welcome them and after the correct introductions, dinner was served.

The food was incredibly delicious and it was taking much of Sokka's self-control to not stuff his face, much of the conversation was between Lao and Aoyun as they sorted out their business deal. Sokka didn't have anything to add to this so he contended himself with the food and studying the only other kid in the room.

Toph Bei Fong, Lao's daughter.

She was roughly Aang's age and one of the most striking things about her was the fact she was blind, her father had mentioned this disability and had stressed how it made her so very vulnerable but Sokka didn't quite agree with him. From what he could see she knew exactly what was happening around her despite her blindness, she could look at anyone who talked to her as if she could see them and he was certain she wasn't doing it purely by sound. There was also a strength to her, something he couldn't quite place, and it made him sure that she was far from the helpless little girl her parents thought she was.

His thoughts were interrupted as Lao's wife spoke to him, "Master Sokka, I must express my curiosity. Your clothing is most unusual, why does it differ so much from the garb of your fellow Water Tribe members?"

He looked down briefly at his clothes before smiling, "They're kind of unique. A member of the Northern Water Tribe called Qimmiq had them specially made for me, the design was commissioned by Chief Arnook and they were given to me as a gift when I left the North Pole to travel south."

"They were given to you by the Chief himself?" Lao sounded impressed.

"But you said you were from the Southern Water Tribe?" Lao's wife seemed confused.

Sokka shrugged, "I am, I travelled up from my home tribe to the North Pole along with my friends."

Lao was shocked, "You have travelled a long way indeed for someone so young."

The teen shuffled in embarrassment, "Yeah, I guess I have."

"And yet you are travelling even further. You mentioned that you are heading over the mountains?"

The boy nodded, "Yeah, I'm actually going to Misty Palms Oasis and then onto the Si Wong Desert, I'm looking for something there." He wasn't sure why, but he felt like being a bit vague on what he was searching for, he wasn't sure he should be telling the Bei Fongs about werewolves.

Lao's wife shook her head, "The desert? I can't imagine what you could be looking for there. As far as anyone knows it's nothing but heat and sand, very few people have crossed it and it is largely unexplored."

Sokka smiled, "So I've been told. Regardless, I need to go there, it's important to me."

Lao smiled, "I see. I cannot tell you much about the desert, I have never been there myself, however, I do know of a village in the mountains that you can stop at. Some of my traders travel through it as they take my goods to and from Misty Palms, it sits on one of the few passes over the mountains and is an excellent stop on the road."

From here, Lao told him about the route he could take over the mountains and how he could find the passage, Sokka took all information he could and after a long discussion it was time for them all to turn in for the night.

* * *

It was just as he was thinking about preparing for bed that he sensed someone standing in the doorway of his room.

He turned to see Toph staring at him…or at least facing his way. She remained quiet for a moment before speaking, "You want go for a walk?"

Shortly they were strolling along through the Bei Fong's extensive garden and Sokka was kind of curious as to why she invited him out here. It was pretty clear that it wasn't because she needed someone around to help her, she could make her way around just fine.

They walked in silence for a bit until, once again, Toph broke it, "You know, I'm not as helpless as my parents make me out to be."

Sokka smiled slightly, "To be honest, I kind of suspected that already."

She smiled as well, "I thought so, and I know you're not quite telling my parents everything about your journey."

He looked at her in surprise and she smirked slightly, "My earthbending is the reason why my blindness isn't a big deal, I can feel vibrations in the earth through my feet letting me 'see' where everything is. It also means I can tell when people are lying or hiding something." She sat on one of the many ornamental boulders, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not angry, I just want to know what it is you're looking for."

Sokka leaned against the boulder as he considered it for a moment, he'd felt uncomfortable discussing werewolves with Lao but he felt that Toph would an okay person to tell, "Well, I'm actually going to the desert to find a werewolf."

"A werewolf?"

He explained, "It's a person who carries a beast inside them, sometimes the beast can come forward and they become it. There is only ever two or three at any one time so they're very hard to find."

"And you think there's one in the desert?"

"I hope so."

She faced him, "And you actually believe they exist?" She looked away, "They sound like a fantasy."

He smiled ruefully, "I know they're real, and I need to find one."

She looked down, "You're lucky, you get to travel by yourself, take care of yourself, do what you want. The life my parents will never let me have." She sighed, "But it's not like I can just leave them, they are my parents after all."

Sokka looked at her, "Something tells me you're not going to be stuck here for the rest of your life."

"Why do you say that?"

He looked up at the moon gracing the sky above them, "I don't know, I just think that's what's going to happen."

They remained in silence together for some time after that, one staring up at the moon and the other listening to the earth.

* * *

The next morning Sokka stood outside the Bei Fong estate with Aoyun.

The woman had also spent the night at the Bei Fong's home but now she needed to return to Gaoling Docks and her crew. They stood in silence for a while until Sokka finally spoke, "Well I guess this is goodbye."

Aoyun clapped him on the shoulder, "Take care out there kid, I hope you find what you're looking for."

He smiled, "And I hope you and the rest do well."

She returned the smile and they both nodded at each other before turning and going their separate ways. As he walked towards the mountains, Sokka briefly looked back and saw Toph standing outside the estate walls, the girl crossed her arms and nodded at him before vanishing back into the bushes around the walls. He waved in her direction, certain that she would 'see' it and then continued on towards the mountains.

The Si Wong Desert awaited him.

* * *

 _ **PS-So a brief appearance from Toph and as you've probably gathered, this chapter is before she meets Aang. Please let me know what you though and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	18. The Village

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter. Sokka's journey takes him into the mountains and towards a little village on his way to the desert. Thank you everyone for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **The Village**

Sokka was now really missing flying on Appa.

When you had a flying bison things like mountains were no longer a problem, you just flew over them, however, when walking, mountains became huge, daunting obstacles that you had to climb simply to get to one little village. How Lao's merchants did this Sokka had no idea.

Sitting down for yet another rest, he looked out at the view.

The land around Gaoling spread out before him and even though he was far from the summits, he could see a huge distance. In the centre of the area was the town itself and from here Sokka could see the entirety of the Bei Fong estate. Beyond that he could see the road that ran towards the docks and then the docks themselves, they were too far away for him to see the actual ships and from this distance everything looked peaceful and serene.

Feeling sufficiently recovered to carry on, Sokka stood and continued up the small, steep path that wound its way up the mountainside. He still had a bit of a way to go to reach the village and he'd have to stop for the night along the way, hopefully he'd reach it by late afternoon the next day.

As he continued his climb, he missed the small white shape descending in the distance towards Gaoling.

* * *

As planned, Sokka entered the tiny mountain village the next afternoon.

It was indeed really tiny, only a few houses built in the shadow of two peaks rearing up either side. Apparently it was so small it wasn't even named, simply called 'the village' by its residents it acted as the only civilised stopping point over the mountains. Its people lived off food grown in its tiered gardens up the mountainsides and the hardy livestock that could survive at such heights, the few passing merchants would trade some goods for provisions and lodgings but other than that the village was largely ignored by the rest of the world. A trait that had served it well during the war.

As Sokka walked into the village, a group of children ran up to him excitedly. Showing absolutely no fear, they buzzed around him asking questions and throwing happy greetings.

"Hey mister! Welcome to the village!"

"Are you a trader!?"

"Your clothes are fancy, are you rich!?"

"What's that bent thing you're carrying?"

"Is that a weapon?"

"Are you an adventurer?"

A woman bustled up and began shooing them away, "Children, leave the poor lad be!" As the kids ran off she smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry about that. We get so few travellers through here that they get ever so excited when someone new shows up."

Sokka grinned, "Its fine, they're just curious."

She smiled and bowed, "Welcome to the village, I am Hariti. I kind of serve as the village's leader."

He returned the gesture, "Thank you, I'm Sokka, from the Southern Water Tribe."

She raised an eyebrow, "Water Tribe? Well you've certainly travelled a long way." She gestured towards the village, "You're welcome to stay with us as long as you need, if you don't mind, we'd love to hear some tales of your travels."

Sokka grinned, "That's fine by me."

She began leading him to one of the houses and as they walked the children followed slightly behind, they all stared at Sokka and he found himself smiling at their curiosity, Hariti shook her head good-humouredly at them as she showed him into the house.

* * *

Later, after he'd been shown where he'd be staying, Sokka wandered outside and immediately found himself mobbed by the gang of children.

One little boy looked up at him, a slight frown on his face, "Mister Sokka?"

The teen crouched down and grinned, "Yeah?"

The boy pointed at his boomerang, "What's that curved thing you keep on your back?"

"This?" He pulled out his boomerang and showed it to the kids, "This is my boomerang, it comes back to me whenever I throw it."

The boy's eyes widened, "Really?"

Sokka nodded, "Really." He grinned again, "I can show you if you want."

As one all the kids started chatting excitedly and he waved at them to be quiet, "Okay then, let's just get to somewhere a bit more open and I'll show you how it works."

No sooner had the words left his mouth, than he found his arms being grabbed by several children who eagerly dragged him to somewhere he could demonstrate the boomerang to them. Looking back, he spotted Hariti laughing at what was happening and he threw back a grin before the kids whisked him away.

* * *

Sokka had spent a very enjoyable couple of hours with the kids of the village.

Firstly he'd shown them how the boomerang worked and they'd all been amazed at how it came back to him. They then started to make an obstacle course of sorts for it, seeing if he could hit certain targets around objects or get it to come back via several points, he found himself impressed by their ingenuity as they made the challenges more and more difficult for him. They then introduced him to a variety of games that they played and he found himself having fun like he hadn't in a very long time.

It reminded him of the time before his mom died, when he and Katara played a lot and didn't have the responsibilities the war placed on them.

Back then they had been just like these kids, happy, fearless and completely unburdened by the duties they held now. Their mom was there to care for them and their dad was home to protect them and the village, they didn't have keep the domestic tasks going or hunt and gather the food they needed to survive. It had been a happy time and he was slightly saddened that he now didn't really remember it, that he didn't really remember his mother's face.

Eventually evening came and everyone gathered in the village hall for the evening meal.

Hariti told him that whenever they had a traveller pass through the village would eat together. Everyone wanted to hear about things beyond the mountains they lived in so it was far easier for them to hear it all together.

For much of the meal, Sokka was bombarded with questions about the rest of the world and he answered them the best he could. Then, as often happens when large groups gather, it started to become something of a party, a few people had instruments and something of an impromptu band appeared. In no time at all request were being made for certain songs and dances and Sokka found himself whirling about the floor, laughing his head off in happiness.

Then the happy evening was destroyed as a man burst in through the door in panic.

"FIRE NATION SOLDIERS! THEY'RE ATTACKING!"

At once, all merriment ceased and Hariti hurried out of the hall with Sokka following close behind.

* * *

Outside was madness, the soldiers had already arrived and were burning down the villager's homes. Firebenders attacked indiscriminately and behind them was a man astride a rhino, who was obviously the leader.

Hariti cried out in horror, "What are you doing!?"

Her answer was a blast of fire from one of the Firebenders and Sokka pulled her out the way of the attack just in time. The man riding the rhino smirked, "This mountain pass is being claimed by the Fire Nation for the war, you useless farmers have no place here!"

Sokka could hear the panicked cries of the kids behind him, these people stood no chance against the Fire Nation. They were peaceful farmers who had no idea how to fight proper soldiers, their isolation meant they didn't have to. They were going to lose their whole village and possibly their lives unless the soldiers were stopped but he was just one warrior, against a whole squad he wouldn't last a minute before they struck him down.

Unless he let the beast out.

The thought scared him but if he didn't then the village was lost, at best its people would become refugees, at worst, they'd all die. The Fire Nation needed to be stopped right here and now and he was the only one able to do it. He heard the weeping of the children and steeled his resolve.

There was no choice.

He pushed Hariti back towards the hall where the rest of the villages were, "Hariti, stay back!"

"But Sokka…"

He shook his head, "No, if they're not stopped then your village, your livelihood, your home, is lost. This has to be done."

He turned away from her and faced the oncoming Fire Nation, their commander snorted, "Really, this is it? One weak teenager is going to stop us?" He burst out laughing, "I'll burn him to ash!"

Sokka didn't bother to respond, instead he shut his eyes and let the eager beast come forward.

Time to see if these special werewolf clothes worked.

* * *

The Fire Nation soldiers had no time to react.

Within moments, the werewolf stood in place of the boy and before the commander could get over his shock it was moving.

Bounding to the nearest group, it batted them aside like ragdolls before spinning and pouncing on more of them. Some firebenders launched blasts at it but they did nothing to halt their target, the werewolf grabbed two of them and flung them into their colleagues sending them all sprawling. A few spear wielders attempted a charge but the beast simply shattered the wooden hafts with a single blow, defenceless, the men gaped at their useless weapons until another arm swing launched them backwards into a nearby building.

The commander forced his terrified rhino into a full on charge, aiming to trample the creature that was decimating his squad. The werewolf saw the mighty beast stampeding towards it but instead of dodging it charged as well. Within moments the two clashed and the werewolf latched its arms around the rhino's neck, somehow stopping it mid-charge.

There was several moments where the two of them pushed against each other, trying to force the other to give ground. Then, with a mighty growl, the werewolf exerted its great strength. Picking the rhino up, it flipped the creature sideways, slamming it heavily down on its side. The impact threw the commander off and he recovered just in time to roll to the side and avoid the lethal claws that stab downwards towards his head.

Smoothly jumping to his feet he saw the werewolf pull its claws from where they'd stuck into the ground and face him.

With a snarl the beast pounced towards him, moving at a pace he could not keep up with. In an instant, the beast grabbed him by the leg and began to spin him like a hammer. Faster and faster the werewolf spun as the commander screamed in terror, then it released its grip on his leg and the man flew high into the air and right out of the village.

The rhino had got back to its feet and it fled in terror, wreaking havoc amongst the soldiers as they dived out the way to avoid being trampled by its panicked flight. Dropping weapons in their haste, the remaining Fire Nation soldiers followed its path. Pushing and throwing each other out of the way, they rushed off away from the village and the fearsome beast that had defended it.

The werewolf chased them to the village outskirts and it stood on its hind legs and howled in victory before turning around and heading back towards the village hall.

* * *

The beast padded towards the hall and found the villagers still there.

It headed towards them but stopped as a stone bounced off its head.

"Monster!"

The werewolf stared in shock as one of the farmers picked up another stone and threw it, "Get away from us you beast!"

The stone bounced off its paw and another quickly followed as another person threw it, "Don't come near!"

Soon, the number of stones increased as more of the villagers started to throw them, their voices filled with hate and fear.

"Get lost!"

"Leave us you horrible creature!"

"Monster!"

"Demon!"

The stones flew thick and fast, striking all over the werewolf's body.

"Don't let it near us!"

"It'll eat our livestock!"

"It'll kill our children!"

"Drive it out of the village!"

As the stones continued to rain down the beast whimpered and yelped, it looked up towards Hariti and was met with a stony, fearful look. Behind her were the children, huddled behind the adults staring in terror. Farming tools began to appear amongst the people, being brandished with clear intent as their users began marching towards the werewolf.

Still being pelted by stones, the beast shuffled backwards whimpering, until, with a final, mournful cry, it turned and fled the village it had defended.

* * *

 _ **PS-A bitter victory for Sokka there. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	19. Wolves to Professors

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and here is another chapter for you all. Sokka's journey continues on after his rejection last chapter and he is helped by some slightly unexpected allies. Thank you all for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Wolves to Professors**

It was morning by the time Sokka awoke in a small cave in the mountainside.

His memories of the previous night were a bit hit and miss, he remembered the Fire Nation attack, letting out the beast and a few bits of the actual fight but it was a different part that really stood out in his mind.

The reaction of the villagers.

He'd risked himself saving their lives and home and they rewarded him by chasing him out of the village, he might've been angry, wrathful even, at the injustice of it but he understood why they'd done it.

They'd been untouched by the war, they hadn't seen its effects and the actions of those involved. Suddenly, a troop of soldiers appear, burning their home and clearly aiming to kill them, then someone they'd welcomed into their homes, who'd played with their children, turned into a mighty beast and single-handedly defeated the soldiers. No wonder they turned on him and chased him out, he'd have likely done exactly the same if he'd been in their place. They'd just wanted to protect what was theirs and he couldn't really condemn them for that.

A growling from behind him attracted his attention and he looked round and froze in shock.

Wolves, a whole pack of them.

He did his best to remain calm and figure out how best to deal with the situation, maybe if he moved slowly and quietly enough he could sneak out and get away before they knew about the intruder in their cave. They seemed to all be sleeping so he should probably go now, then he noticed that they weren't all sleeping.

A couple of the wolves were wide awake and staring right at him.

One of them headed his direction and Sokka prepared to run but he realised that the creature didn't actually seem eager to attack him, instead it was wagging its tail making it seem more like a domestic dog than a wild wolf. The creature came right up to him and treated the boy to a huge lick, Sokka sat there for a moment then awkwardly patted its head, "Umm…good boy?"

The wolf yapped happily and its call seemed to rouse the others, soon, Sokka found himself surrounded by happy wolves and he patted them feeling very confused.

Did they know he was a werewolf and that's why they were being so friendly to him? Did they think he was one of them? Maybe that's why the werewolf chose this cave to retreat to last night.

There was a pattering of feet at the cave entrance and Sokka looked up to see another, older, wolf enter carrying his pack in its mouth. It dropped it in front of him and the teen found himself even more shocked, how had it got a hold of that? Had it snuck into the village and stolen it? He'd left it in Hariti's house yesterday.

The older wolf growled out commandingly and the others obediently moved away from Sokka, it then nudged the pack towards the boy and, for some strange reason, bowed.

Sokka hesitated, unsure of what to do, then he took his pack and stood up to put it on his back. Thankfully, the clothing Qimmiq had given to him had done exactly as it was supposed to, it had stretched through his transformation without any signs of damage and Sokka was impressed by its workmanship. The wolf stepped aside and gestured with its head to the cave entrance, the teen hesitated again then moved forward and out of the cave.

He came out on a ledge high up one of the mountains, below him he could see the village and from here the extent of the damage was clear. Many of the houses were ruined, either burned or destroyed, and the evidence of the previous night's battle was still obvious. He could spot the faint figures of people moving about and that was no doubt the villagers getting started on clear up and repairs, several of them were now without homes and had probably lost a lot of possessions into the bargain. Fortunately, it looked like the tiered gardens they grew their food were mostly untouched, the werewolf had managed to rout the Fire Nation before they got to those so at least the people would not be going hungry. However, that was little comfort and Sokka felt guilty and wondered if there was some way he could help them.

As if it had understood his thoughts, the older wolf stood alongside him and gave him a look that seemed to tell him no. Sokka sighed, there wasn't really any way he could help them, they thought he was some kind of monster and would only attack if he went back to the village. Better for everyone if he just slipped away and continued on his journey.

The older wolf seemed to growl in approval and moved down a narrow animal track that led away from the cave, it stopped partway down and turned to Sokka as if asking him to follow.

With one more look at the village below, the boy turned and did just that.

* * *

It took a day or two for Sokka to make his way down the other side of the mountains.

For part of the way he was accompanied by the old wolf as it took him down a small, unused by man, track. It wound its way down the mountain, eventually joining the main path some distance from the village. At this point the wolf left him and returned back up the track, likely to return to its pack, and Sokka pondered over what had happened.

It seemed that as a werewolf he somehow had some sort of kinship with normal wolves, he couldn't deny that they'd helped him but he did wonder if this had been a lucky one off. Another question he'd have to remember later.

As he travelled he did his best to forget about what had happened in the village, the way the people had turned on him.

It was a clear reminder of why he kept it a secret, people feared the beast and it was a fear that was well founded. He had to be careful with where he let the beast loose, while he still believed there was no other way to save those people, he promised to do his best to avoid being in such a situation again. He needed control.

However, there was one aspect of the event he kept remembering.

When the villagers had begun to throw stones to chase the werewolf off it didn't fight back. He'd always thought that the beast would attack anything conceived as a threat, it could've beaten all of the villagers easily but instead it had retreated, it hadn't fought back. It wasn't like the stones had actually hurt it much, it could shrug off fire blasts like they were nothing after all, but something had stopped it attacking.

He focused inward and found the beast to be quiet and subdued, a state it wasn't usually in. He wasn't sure what but something had made it retreat.

* * *

Sokka hadn't realised it yet but his transformations had caused ripples amongst the Fire Nation forces.

The tale of the great wolf that had warned a town about its imminent destruction had spread through Fire Nation territory and into the Earth Kingdom, many dismissed the tale as fantasy to begin with but news of the wolf being spotted again made them reconsider.

The Avatar merging with the Ocean Spirit and easily pushing back the Fire Nation invasion was of course far greater news but the appearance of the vengeful wolf to turn the tide of battle was not forgotten. In fact it was one of the hottest tales spreading through the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, many soldiers involved had seen the wolf first hand (though those who'd seen the actual transformation had all been captured by the Water Tribe) and they soon told others about their experience along with all the usual embellishments and expansions. Those who heard it passed it on to others and so the story spread amongst Fire Nation citizens. With the wolf then appearing in official military reports of the battle, the leaders of the military had no choice but to accept the great wolf as reality instead of fantasy, including Firelord Ozai himself.

Their response was to try and dig up any information they could on the wolf, in fact it was as high a priority as capturing the Avatar, but out with the two sightings, there was little to go on.

Then came the report from the troop that had attacked the village.

It was admittedly a hard concept to swallow, but there had been enough witnesses to make it unlikely to be a lie. The Fire Nation had to accept the fact that the wolf also had a human form, a teenage human form.

This caused a flurry of all sorts of theories. Was it a spirit? A monster? Some weird experiment? A biological weapon created by the Earth Kingdom or Water Tribes?

Fortunately, the soldiers hadn't gotten a clear look at Sokka's face before he transformed, therefore people hadn't yet connected the wolf to the Water Tribe boy who'd been travelling with the Avatar. However, it would only be a matter of time and the Fire Nation was keeping a careful watch for what could considered their second most dangerous foe.

* * *

Finally, after several days travelling, Sokka walked through the gates of Misty Palms Oasis.

From first impressions he could say the place was not welcoming, it held a few small, baked mud houses and in its centre was a tiny clump of ice. There were also no palm trees, mist or oasis (unless you count the ice), making its name pretty much one big lie. There were few people out and about and those that were glared at Sokka suspiciously as he walked by, most were armed and he got the distinct impression they were mainly bounty hunters and mercenaries.

Keeping his stride confident and level, the teen made his way towards what looked like a tavern near the ice mound.

Inside was fairly dark and empty, fruit hung around and behind the bar and Sokka saw the fearsome looking bartender use his swords to slice it up to put in the drinks, he then added a little umbrella, a bamboo straw and some ice-cubes making the whole thing just a little surreal. The teen glanced around at the other patrons, there were a couple of heavily wrapped men in one corner speaking together, a few mercenary-types at the far end, a white robe man wearing a travelling pack and an old man in a little alcove by a Pai Sho board.

Deciding he might as well get a drink while he was here, Sokka headed to the counter, "One melon please."

The bartender nodded and proceeded to make his drink, as Sokka handed him the money to pay for it he asked a question, "Umm…has there been a man called Professor Zei here recently?"

"That would be me young man."

Sokka turned to see the white-robed man standing nearby, he was very different from the others about them and was clearly well-travelled. The man gave him a greeting bow, "I am Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University."

Sokka returned the greeting, "I'm Sokka, of the Southern Water Tribe."

Zei clapped his hands together, "Southern Tribe? Wonderful! I've only ever read about your people so to meet you is a real pleasure."

Taking his drink, Sokka followed the man to a nearby table and once they were seated the professor smiled, "So, why are you looking for me?"

Sokka took a sip of his drink before answering, "Well, I'm actually searching for a werewolf or any information on them. I was told you'd seen one out in the desert."

The man leaned back in his seat, "Ah yes, the werewolf. I did indeed see one but I'm afraid I never learned much about it." He clasped his hands together, "I was out in the desert searching for Wan Shi Tong's great library and was hiking the dunes at night, its cooler then you see. Then, under the light of a full moon, I saw a great wolf bounding across the sands. I thought I was done for but the beast had no interest in me, as I watched it slowed its pace and transformed right before my very eyes. Within moments it morphed into a human figure and carried on through the desert, I tried to follow and learn more about it but I quickly lost it amongst the dunes. Whenever I've returned to the desert I've kept watch but I haven't seen it since." He shook his head, "Most people say that it was a mirage but they are caused by heat, this was during the cool of night so I am certain of what I saw. Perhaps Wan Shi Tong's Library may hold the key to that mystery amongst its vast store of knowledge."

Sokka had been initially disappointed at the professor's lack of knowledge but the library had piqued his intrest.

"Wan Shi Tong's Library?"

Zei leaned forward eagerly, "Legend says it was built by the great knowledge spirit, Wan Shi Tong, his fox-like knowledge seekers would go out and gather books from around the world to be displayed in the library for man-kind to read. I have spent years searching for it, for it is the crown-jewel of archaeological discoveries, it could contain vast amounts of lost knowledge for the world."

Sokka frowned thoughtfully, "If it contains a vast amount of knowledge, would it likely have information on werewolves."

The professor nodded eagerly, "Oh most certainly, if the library truly exists then it would definitely have information on werewolves."

The teen grinned, "Okay then." He smacked his hand on the table, "If you're about to make another trip to find it then I'm coming with you."

The man nearly fell out of his seat in surprise, "Are you certain? I've nearly died several times trying to cross the desert, do you really want to take the risk?"

Sokka simply nodded, "Of course, Wan Shi Tong's library may well have the information on werewolves I'm looking for. On top of that, the werewolf you saw is in the desert, I may meet it for myself if I go with you."

Zei gaped at him before smiling once more, "Very well then, you are obviously determined and the help and company would be appreciated. Let us embark on this expedition together."

The two of them shook hands, ready to find Wan Shi Tong's library.

* * *

 _ **PS-And into the desert they go. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	20. Unintentional Knowledge

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and apologies for the long wait since the last update. I was ill for several days then I was on holiday so I'm actually behind on a few stories at the moment. However, I've finally updated and this chapter deals with the library. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Unintentional Knowledge**

Having experienced it for himself, Sokka now had a great deal of respect for the desert.

Everyone knew it was hot but that wasn't enough to prepare you for the baking heat the day brought. Thankfully, Professor Zei had travelled the desert several times before and had learnt ways to cope. Mainly they travelled from late in the day until early morning, this helped them beat the intense heat of the middle of the day but at night the temperature dropped rapidly. Sokka didn't mind the decreased temperature much, it had nothing on the South Pole, but the switch between such extremes was hard to cope with. Water was the other issue, it had to be rationed or they'd run out and he felt perpetually thirsty, at least Zei knew of one or two oases they could restock their supplies at but they both knew that such things would become scarce as they delved into unexplored areas.

Days passed and they forged deeper into the desert, Sokka proved invaluable in their search as he could navigate using the stars and sun better than Zei. In this way, he had a better idea of which direction they were travelling but how far things were from them was still a mystery.

As they travelled further, Sokka learned a heck of a lot more than he ever thought he would. Professor Zei talked _constantly_ , nothing made the man happier than to speak upon any sort of subject at great length. He'd been most interested in Sokka's home tribe and asked countless questions about how they lived, what they ate, their traditions and much more. When that subject was exhausted, he moved onto the Northern Tribe and he took great interest in the Legend of Amaruq and agreed with it being the possible origin of the werewolf legends. Once they were finished with Water Tribe subjects they moved onto the Earth Kingdom and Sokka had to confess he forgot or tuned out most of what the man told him.

Days became weeks and their supplies ran lower and lower.

They both knew that they'd have to turn back soon, as it was they were already pushing it, but they both were stubborn. Zei was determined to find the lost library and he'd already said that Sokka's assistance had got him further into the desert than ever before, Sokka himself was just as eager to find it as well as possibly find the werewolf that potentially lingered amongst the sand.

Eventually they agreed that continuing would be too dangerous and they stopped for their last rest before turning back once more.

* * *

Sokka was too restless to sleep.

Something seemed to be keeping him awake, some instinct that told him that something important was going to happen. Leaving the canvas shelter they'd put up, the teen stepped out into the baking heat of the midday desert.

The horizon shimmered and danced, the cause of infamous mirages, and Sokka scanned the wavy surface of the sandy dunes. He hadn't been expecting to see anything but more sand but a small, moving dot caught his attention. He focused upon the shape and watched as it seemed to come closer, at first he thought it was a trick of the desert but gradually he realised that it was very real.

He readied himself in case it was dangerous but as it got closer it became clear that it was too small to be a threat. Gradually, the blob took on a recognisable shape of an animal, four legged, with a brush-like tail and a handsome red coat.

A fox, or rather, a fox spirit.

Sokka hurried inside and began roughly shaking Zei, "Professor! Wake up!"

The man looked up at him blearily, "Hmm…what…? Is it time to go already?"

The teen began unceremoniously dragging the man outside, "You've got to see this!"

Outside, Sokka spun the professor to face where the fox was now much closer and clearly carrying a scroll in its mouth, for several moments the man merely stared then his face broke into a triumphant grin, "It's one of Wan Shi Tong's knowledge seekers!"

The teen nodded, "I thought so. Now we can find the library." He pointed at the fox as it ambled past, "We just follow him."

* * *

The fox seemed unconcerned by the two humans following it and led them through the desert.

The day wore on and as the sun descended towards the horizon, they found themselves at the foot of a tower. It wasn't the biggest tower they'd seen but it was elegantly designed and towered over the desert sand. The fox seemingly walked up its wall and through a window near the top leaving them behind on the sand below.

The professor smiled, "We must be close to it now."

Sokka shook his head, "We're not 'close to it', we're at it! Show me the drawing you had of it."

The professor pulled out his diagram of the library and unrolled it, the teen pointed excitedly to the spire at the very top, "See! This tower is that spire!"

Zei's face fell, "The whole thing is buried!" he quickly smiled again and pulled out a trowel, "Well, best get excavating."

Sokka stopped him, "I don't think we need to do that. The fox went through the window so let's go that way as well."

In short order, Sokka had tied a long rope to his boomerang and flung it through the window, the two of them scaled it together and descended into the library itself.

Inside was vast and Sokka gaped as they slid down through an immense dome towards an ornate walkway.

Professor Zei could not contain himself, "Oh, its breath-taking. The spirits spared no expense in designing this place. Look at those beautiful buttresses!"

Sokka suppressed a snort at his words as his feet touched the walkway, Zei was already admiring a mosaic of an owl, "The exquisite mosaic handiwork of this tile-rendered avian symbol…" he then remembered his companion and finished in a simpler way, "A very nice owl mosaic."

There was a sound like the ruffling of feathers and Sokka swiftly pulled the professor behind a pillar to hide. The towering form of a black and white owl emerged from amongst the many bookcases and examined the rope they'd climbed down on, it turned its head all the way around to stare at their hiding place.

"I know you're back there."

At the sound of the owl's deep voice, Professor Zei hurried forward and bowed in greeting, "Hello! I'm Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University."

The owl was not impressed, "You should leave the way you came," He looked to a wall to the left, "unless you want to become a stuffed head of anthropology."

The wall bore several animal heads on plaques and as Zei shuffled nervously, Sokka stepped up to join him, "Are you the spirit who brought this library to the physical world?"

"Indeed, I am Wan Shi Tong, he who knows ten thousand things. And your kind are no longer permitted in my study for they only seek knowledge to destroy others." He thrust his face right before Sokka's, "So who are you trying to destroy, little cub?"

Sokka somehow stood his ground and answered, "No one, honest. I'm here to find any information I can on werewolves."

Wan Shi Tong moved back and eyed him curiously, "Interesting, that you of all people know so little about them. Doesn't your tribe have this knowledge already?"

The teen shook his head, "No, much of it was lost over the years. A man named Qimmiq found out a little but I need to know more." He bowed, "Please great spirit, I'm not here to abuse your knowledge, let us look through your library."

The spirit gazed down upon him thoughtfully then clacked his beck decisively, "Very well, in honour of your ancient predecessor, I will allow you to peruse my collection. However, you must show your worth as scholars and contribute some worthwhile knowledge to my library."

Immediately, Professor Zei presented a large book, "Please accept this tome as a donation to your library."

The spirit nodded in approval, "First edition, very nice."

He passed his wing over the book and it disappeared, he turned to Sokka who produced a scroll Qimmiq had given him when he left the North Pole, "This is a recording of the Legend of Amaruq, the First Werewolf, as written by Qimmiq of the Northern Watertribe."

The owl eyed it approvingly, "A new historical account of that event and fairly close to the truth as far as I can tell. A most worthy addition."

Again, he passed his wing over and the scroll vanished, he nodded once, "Enjoy the library."

He took off and winged downwards into the depths of the library leaving them to browse.

* * *

The library was vast and Sokka knew he'd have his work cut out for him.

Firstly, he'd have to find the Water Tribe section and then he'd have to find anything on werewolves amongst that. Professor Zei had been swept up in reading the collection of knowledge around him so Sokka was left searching alone.

It took some time but eventually he located the Water Tribe section and set about searching for information on werewolves. He scoured all the shelves he could find but in the end, all he could locate was a single tome. It was simply titled 'Werewolves' and seemed to be a sort of journal, recording the observations of a werewolf a Water Tribesman had studied. The teen briefly leafed through it, seeing titles like, hunting techniques, abilities, connection to the moon and several others, it appeared to be a very good place to start. He looked around for more werewolf books and his eyes fell upon a burnt scrap of parchment upon a nearby pedestal.

 _The Darkest Day in Fire Nation History_.

All that was on it was the title and a date, the rest had been burnt away at some point. Sokka's curiosity was roused and he carefully placed the Werewolf Tome in his pack and removed the burnt parchment from its pedestal, he headed back to where he'd glimpsed the banner for the Fire Nation eager to see what the date could unearth in that section. However, his plans were thwarted when he discovered that firebenders had already burnt everything within to ash.

He slumped dejectedly, no wonder Wan Shi Tong didn't want anyone else in his library, the spirit would've been enraged by losing so much of his collection. He looked down at the parchment again, he had to know what happened that day, he felt like he was on the verge of something huge.

There was a whimper behind him and he turned to see one of the foxes looking at him, they stared at each other for a moment until Sokka broke the silence, "Umm…Hello, weird little fox guy."

It whimpered again and turned and pointed down the hall, signalling its desire for the teen to follow. The boy shrugged, "I guess I'll follow you."

The fox trotted ahead and Sokka followed it through halls and rooms until it brought him to a wall painted with the sun, the fox vanished into a small hole and with a small rumble, the symbol rolled to the side revealing an opening.

The room beyond was domed and dark, its walls painted with sky and scenery. The fox padded over to a lever and pushed it, causing the fake sky to fill with stars that revolved around them. The moon rose on a mechanical arm and travelled across the ceiling and Sokka realised that the room was an incredible, mechanical planetarium. He looked at the fox in confusion, "While I admit this is pretty beautiful, how is it helpful?"

In answer, the fox put its front paws up on the circular pedestal beside the lever and the teen examined it closer. It had several dials that rotated around the central Yin-Yang symbol, the boy realised that they represented dates and he looked at the date on the parchment, "Let's see if this works."

Rotating the dials to the correct date, Sokka pushed the lever and instantly the machine began working. The sun rose on its own mechanical arm, making the whole room light up, it and the moon moved across the ceiling until the device stopped and everything was plunged into shadow. He looked around in confusion until he noticed that the sun was behind the moon.

A solar eclipse.

Literally the darkest day in Fire Nation history and he could think of a good reason why.

You can't firebend during an eclipse.

It would make sense, losing the moon stopped waterbending so losing the sun stopped firebending, it would drastically weaken the Fire Nation. Now to find out if one was coming soon.

He immediately began turning the dials again, maybe this device could predict eclipses as well as reveal past ones. He would put in every date between now and Sozin's Comet, if an eclipse happened during that time then they would invade the Fire Nation then and strike a major blow in the war.

He checked date after date after date, the projected heavens moved in response but no eclipse appeared. Still, he kept checking, hoping that one would materialise. Eventually, the room darkened, indicating that once again, the moon covered the sun. Sokka whooped in delight, "Yes! That's when we'll do it!"

There was a whimper behind him and he turned to see the fox sitting on its hind paws begging, the teen smiled, "Fine, you earned it."

He threw a meaty treat for it and the fox caught it in its mouth and scampered away happily. The boy turned back to the dials and quickly scribbled the date down, he'd just finished when a vast shadow fell across him.

"Mortals are so predictable."

Sokka spun around to face Wan Shi Tong who looked down impassively, "I allowed you in because I hoped you, son of Amaruq, would not be like the humans. Yet you still seek knowledge only to cause the destruction of others."

Sokka's eyes widened, in his eagerness to find out about the parchment he'd forgotten about his words to the spirit, how he'd claimed he wouldn't abuse the knowledge he found. He tried to plead with the owl, "Please great spirit, I hadn't intended to betray your trust but when I saw this parchment I couldn't let it be. The Fire Nation has been trying to conquer the world for a hundred years, they've hurt and destroyed so much, including parts of your own library. I need this knowledge to help stop them."

"Do you think you are the first to claim his war as justified?" He loomed over the boy, "Countless others have been here, seeking weapons or strategy or weaknesses."

Sokka stood determinedly, "I truly only came here to find knowledge on werewolves but I saw a chance to help end this war and took it, to protect everyone I love."

Wan Shi Tong stepped backwards, "And now I'll protect what I love." He began beating his mighty wings and Sokka was nearly blowing over by the gust created as the spirit roared out a declaration, "I'm taking my knowledge back. No one will ever abuse it again!"

The room began to shake and sand began dribbling in through the walls. With fear, Sokka realised that Wan Shi Tong was intending to sink the entire library, they had to get out now!

He sprinted past the owl spirit and headed for the rope he'd used to come in, suddenly, a nearby bookcase was flung aside and Wan Shi Tong's head lunged at him with a shriek. Sokka narrowly dodged the blow and the mighty beak cracked the stone floor behind him, putting on a burst of speed, the boy pressed on with the spirit in hot pursuit. Rounding a corner, he spotted a massive book laying open on the floor. Seizing it, he hefted it high above his head and, as Wan Shi Tong's head snapped around the corner, he flung it. It soared through the air and collided solidly with the owl's forehead, the spirit squawked in surprise and was sent tumbling into the wall in a shower of books, dust and rubble. Not hanging around, Sokka shot off again.

He quickly reached the rope and saw Professor Zei nearby still leafing through tomes, he began running towards the man, "Professor! The whole place is sinking; we've got to go now!"

The man stubbornly shook his head, "I'm not leaving. I can't." He looked upwards, "I've spent too long trying to find this place. There's not another collection of knowledge like this in the world." He closed his eyes and smiled wistfully, "I could spend an eternity here."

The building gave a mighty shake and a mass of sand fell between them, blocking Sokka from reaching the professor. He hesitated a moment, then slammed his hand on the walkway railing before scaling the rope.

A shriek announced Wan Shi Tong approaching and the boy climbed quicker, the spirit appeared upon the walkway and instantly flew upward towards him. Reacting quickly, Sokka swung himself upon the rope, avoiding the deadly beak and then delivering a mighty kick to the feathered head. Once again, Wan Shi Tong was flung into a wall and he tumbled down to land in a heap on the walkway. With renewed speed, the teen shot up the rope and leapt out of the window, pulling the rope with him. He plummeted a short distance to the burning ground as the tower plunged into the desert sands, never to be seen again.

Standing up, Sokka found himself alone in the depths of the desert.

* * *

 _ **PS-So yes he did get the information on the eclipse, if unintentionally this time. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	21. Let Go

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and apologies for the long gap since the last update. I've been doing a lot of different things over the last few weeks so writing fanfiction went onto the back-burner. However, I'm now back and Sokka meets an important person this chapter. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Let Go**

The desert was not a good place to wander alone.

Night had fallen by the time Sokka had escaped the Library and he'd wasted no time in heading towards the desert's edge. The journey would be long, possibly too long since half of his supplies had been with Professor Zei. Sokka did not have much in the way of food and water and even rationing it was likely to be fruitless. Nevertheless, he pressed on, he had never really been one to give up and he had no intention of dying in a sandpit.

Time moved on and as days passed, his supplies dwindled and disappeared. All too soon his strength started to fail at the lack of food and water and he finally collapsed onto the desert sand.

As his eyes closed he dimly realised that he might never open them again.

* * *

A rocky ceiling was not what Sokka expected to see when he died.

It took a moment or two but the boy eventually worked out that he was actually still alive, he felt far too fleshy to be a spirit and he could most certainly smell cooking meat that made him hungry.

Slowly, he sat up and looked around what seemed to be a small stone cave, made from some sandy coloured rock. It was basically a dome shape with a single, small entrance across from him. A variety of basic tools were scattered around and the centre of the cave was dominated by a fire pit that had meat roasting over it on a spit.

Beside this sat the person who'd likely brought him here. She was an elderly lady, though far from frail, with long grey hair, she wore a simple robe-like garment and was barefooted. Though ever so slightly stooped with age, she stood with a confidence and strength that surprised Sokka and there was something about her that felt familiar to him.

As if sensing he was awake, she turned her blue eyes upon him and smiled, "You're lucky that the desert didn't claim you. If I hadn't found you then you'd have been lost."

Sokka bowed his head gratefully, "Thank you."

She simply nodded, "I am Nujalik." She eyed him interestedly, "So you are the young cub, it is indeed good to meet one with the same blessing as me once again."

The boy frowned in confusion, "What do you mean by 'same blessing'?"

Her smile broadened and without a word she changed.

Her body grew in size, muscles increased, ears lengthened, hands widened as nails became claws. Within moments a greying werewolf, now filling its simple robe, stood before him and Sokka nearly fell back in surprise, he'd found another like him.

"You're a werewolf!"

Swiftly, Nujalik changed back to her human self, her robe now less filled, and nodded once more, "Indeed little cub, like you I have the blessing of Amaruq and I've borne it since the time I once lived among my parent tribe, the Southern Water Tribe."

Questions buzzed around Sokka's head and he didn't know where to start, "I have so many questions, so many things I want to know." He managed to get control of his thoughts and fixed Nujalik with a determined look, "Can you teach me control?"

She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "I can."

* * *

It was the next day before Sokka's training began.

Nujalik had insisted that he properly eat, hydrate himself and rest before beginning and the teen had done as she'd asked. Early in the morning she woke him, fed him breakfast and then led him outside.

Her cave was in a tiny outcrop of rock that stood amongst the sand dunes, only sand stretched around them and it was likely that the cave was deep within the Si Wong Desert. She led him to the top of the outcrop and sat down facing him, Sokka mirrored her actions and sat opposite her.

She nodded briefly, "Sokka, in order to control the wolf form there is one truth that you must understand."

She closed her eyes briefly then looked right into his, "The key to control is to not do so."

"What!?"

Sokka gaped at her, wasn't that the whole point of control? How could he control the werewolf without trying to do so?

She spoke again before he could say anything else, "You have spent time with benders and, in particular, the Avatar, correct?"

The boy nodded, "Well yeah, but, how did you know that?"

She smiled, "I may live in the middle of the desert but I'm far from out of touch with the rest of the world. Your travels with the Avatar are well known, even if people don't know you're a werewolf." She turned serious once more, "While their teachings aren't wrong, the spiritual concepts connected to bending and to the Avatar are not very compatible with a werewolf. Master benders require control, focus and a degree of spiritual peace thus they are not connected with other spiritual aspects. In fact, most people in the world have a very narrow view of the spiritual."

She sighed, "A werewolf is connected to a more primal force, bending originated in nature but over time, humans have exerted their views over it. Bending has become tamer, more cultured and connected to human ideals. Not necessarily a bad thing but it does slightly limit it. Werewolves were born from one of the most primal of connections, a bond of deep love and brotherhood. All creatures form connections with other creatures, some are relatively simple while others are immensely complicated, Amaruq was born from such a connection and it was what made him so powerful."

Sokka frowned, "Okay, but what do you mean when you talk about spiritual concepts?"

She smiled slightly, "Many people have a very fluffy, peace and tranquillity view on the spiritual world and while that is a part of it, there are many more varied ways spirituality can be expressed. Werewolves connect with a much wilder spirituality, they are all about the hunt, strength, exertion of power and excitement. They don't meditate, they act and do. To be a true werewolf, you must not hold back. Take joy in using your power, your wolf form and don't try to control it."

She frowned, "Another important lesson is acceptance, you are the werewolf and the werewolf is you. It's not some other creature that takes over, it still has your personality, your connections, desires and love. You may not have felt in control when you've transformed but that's because you see the werewolf as something separate from you. It's not and it never will be."

The teen looked down, "But, its seriously hurt people, killed viciously, the first time I became a werewolf it tore a polar-dog to pieces!"

Her gaze did not waver, "Sokka, has your wolf form ever harmed one of your allies, any of your friends or family?"

He looked up, "Well…no but…"

She smiled again, "That's because you are the werewolf, you know who your allies are when in your wolf form. In fact, most of your battles as the werewolf have probably been because you needed to protect people or because someone has harmed them. You are a werewolf all the time, as a human or a beast, both forms are you."

Sokka looked away sadly but didn't answer and she gently squeezed his shoulder, "Believe me, I struggled with this as well. When I first discovered what I was, I thought I was cursed or some sort of monster. Its why I left the Southern Water Tribe."

She gazed upward, a wistful look on her face, "I travelled for years, hiding who I was but in time, I learnt that I wasn't cursed nor a monster. I was blessed with a powerful gift, just like benders and only when I let go of trying to control my wolf form did I finally become a true werewolf."

She gazed at him once more, "Forget hiding, forget the thought that you bear some sort of burden, you are a werewolf and there is nothing wrong or dark about your gift. Yes, people may fear you but by using your abilities to help them, you can prove that you are not to be feared. Amaruq was a hero and he became that by being a werewolf."

She held out her hand to him, "Are you ready to let go, to be a werewolf?"

Sokka hesitated. All his life he'd been hiding his wolf form, he'd believed it to be a curse, a burden that he had to bear. He'd feared and supressed it, doing his best to not become the beast because he thought it would only make things worse. However, so many people he'd met had told him otherwise; Jeong Jeong, Qimmiq, Zhijian, even the old man that hadn't feared his wolf form. Yes, he'd been driven out by the villagers while in the mountains but he'd accepted and understood why, people would be scared of him but, as Nujalik said, only by proving he wasn't to be feared would he change that. He'd suppressed and controlled all his life yet he couldn't use his wolf form effectively, perhaps it was time to accept what he was.

Matching Nujalik's gaze, he took her hand.

"Yes."

* * *

 _ **PS-So his werewolf training begins. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	22. Training

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to the next chapter. As the title suggests, this is all about Sokka's training with Nujalik. Due to the nature of this AU, Nujalik is effectively replacing Piandao, as much as I like his character the things that lead to Sokka training under him aren't going to happen so he's unlikely to appear at all. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Training**

While it sounded easy, letting go and simply being a werewolf proved difficult.

Sokka initially couldn't release his wolf-form, when he felt the familiar sensations of it rising he'd automatically attempt to supress or contain it, then it would retreat and he wouldn't transform at all. It was frustrating but Nujalik was patient, she would simply ask him to try again but still he couldn't stop trying to supress it.

Eventually, after a great many attempts (and kicking himself to just take the leap of faith already), he finally released his wolf form.

For a long time, he just stood there, focusing on his werewolf body.

He could feel strength flowing through his limbs, raw physical power thundering through his veins. Noises flooded his ears and he'd never realised just how noisy the desert was, wind blew, sand shifted, a desert creature scurried past somewhere nearby and some bird called in the distance. Scents also flooded his nose, sand, rock, clothing, Nujalik's scent, even his own and he realised just how much he'd never noticed about his beast form.

The urge to run, expend his power in an explosion of speed, filled him and Nujalik chuckled beside him, "I know just what you want to do little cub." She stood in front of him and gestured out over the sands with her head, "Fancy a little race?"

Sokka liked the idea of a race a lot and his agreement came out as a growl. The woman grinned, "I though as much, however, I will not go easy on you, let's find out if the young cub can beat the old alpha."

She quickly transformed into her own wolf form and shot her young pupil a grin, then, with a quick bark, she shot off over the desert with Sokka right behind her.

The sand vanished beneath the two werewolves as they practically flew over the desert, Sokka barked happily as he charged after Nujalik and the older werewolf answered joyfully. Their race turned into some form of tag as Sokka tried to catch her but Nujalik was too canny, she knew exactly when to dodge and put on bursts of speed and avoided each of his attempts with ease. This didn't deter the boy in the slightest and the game continued until Sokka's energy finally ran out and he transformed back into his human form.

He fell back onto the sand and stared upwards, a happy grin on his face. Nujalik's human face loomed over him, a knowing smile on her lips, "Well, what did you think of that?"

His grin widened, "It was awesome!"

* * *

He learned a lot from Nujalik over during the days of his training.

Having tasted the fun he could have in his wolf form, he had no trouble transforming into it but transforming into his wolf form and using it were two different things. His enhanced senses, while useful, could become overwhelming and spent many hours simply learning to use his sense of smell and his advanced hearing properly. Until now he'd been running on instinct but that would only get him so far, he had to know how to make his body work to his advantage in any situation.

His vocal capabilities were also limited while in his wolf form, as the beast he couldn't use human language and instead had to rely on a variety of barks, growls, howls and other wolf-like sounds. This would make it difficult for him to communicate with his allies so he and Nujalik came up with a series of signals he could use while in his wolf form to circumvent this issue.

He also learned how to fight in the wolf form, techniques, tactics and how best to exert his considerable physical power were all covered. Use of terrain, hazards and other things that could affect a battlefield were also looked at, making extensive use of the wolf's lightning agility and reflexes.

All in all, it was a very exhausting but fruitful period and as he trained, Sokka noticed that transforming into his wolf form made him exceptionally tired when he switched back. Nujalik told him it was to be expected but the more he used his wolf form, the less tired it would make him, in that regard it wasn't too different from any other form of exercise.

It wasn't just physical training but Sokka was also expanding his knowledge of werewolves via the Werewolf Tome he'd taken from Wan Shi Tong's library.

In the excitement of the library, his predicament afterwards and finding another werewolf, he'd nearly forgotten about the Werewolf Tome. It was only when he'd found it in his pack he remembered that he hadn't actually read it yet, as such he took to studying its pages during his breaks in Nujalik's training.

It dealt with things he'd already learned, werewolf origins, differences between a werewolf and a normal wolf and the strengthening power of the moon, however, within a section on werewolf abilities he came across an observation on transformation.

The book called the transformation process 'shifting'. The switch from man to beast was the 'full-shift', the switch from beast to man was the 'back-shift' but there was also a third form of shifting, the 'sub-shift'. Normal shifting used a lot of energy and the more the werewolf did in the fully shifted form, the longer they had to rest afterwards (this had already been discovered by Nujalik and himself). A sub-shift was a way to help combat this, instead of expending massive amounts of energy to take on the full beast form, a werewolf could use far less to take on only certain aspects of the beast such as its strength and agility.

Sokka could think of several times he'd done this unintentionally and he could see the advantages. A full-shift wouldn't always be the best option and would be an excessive expenditure of energy for something small like a single soldier, a sub-shift would be more suited for such a situation since he could give himself a quick burst of strength without weakening himself too much. However, there were multiple stages of a sub-shift.

The first level would be when a werewolf would have a sudden surge of strength or agility that only lasted a couple of moments. The second would be such a surge lasting for a more extended period, such as pushing a boulder up the length of a slope. The third level would be a small-scale shift of the body, only werewolf's claws appearing would be an example. The fourth would be something akin to what happened to Sokka on the pirate ship, where only his arm shifted, this was possibly the most draining of sub-shifts but the most useful in an extended fight. If a situation required something more than a forth level sub-shift it was more prudent to just jump to a full-shift as the mental focus needed for higher sub-shift levels was greater than what a full-shift required, making them less useful.

Sokka was intrigued by the sub-shifts, they could serve as a good alternative to his full wolf form and help with the language difficulties that occurred when he fully-shifted. Once he'd shown Nujalik the tome, she became equally interested. She'd never actually managed a forth level sub-shift in her discoveries of her gift and so she added sub-shifting into their training.

* * *

Claws clashed and Sokka disengaged and leapt back, Nujalik lunged forward and the boy dived sideways, rolled gracefully and countered, sending his teacher back a few paces.

They were in the middle of a sparring session using only sub-shifting. Both werewolves had shifted arms and were testing their ability to increase their strength and agility at just the right moment to gain the upper hand. Over the days they'd practiced, Sokka had quickly learned how best to apply his abilities and now he could hold his own. Initially, Nujalik could always beat him in a spar but now Sokka had the skills to match her and the greater stamina granted by his youth gave him the advantage.

They clashed again and Sokka pushed her back with his shifted arm, Nujalik stumbled backward and her arm back-shifted as she panted heavily, "That'll do for now." She smiled, "You've really improved Sokka, your skill has grown to match your youthful strength."

He grinned back, "You're still pretty powerful yourself and probably still stronger than I am."

She sat down, "No need to be modest little cub. You're as skilled as I am and I know that my age is catching up to me. Even werewolves must deal with growing old."

He sat beside her and they rested in silence, for a while they stayed that way until Sokka finally spoke, "I read something interesting in that tome last night."

Nujalik looked at him interestedly, "Oh?"

"It mentioned the rarity of werewolves, apparently, the writer had looked into their numbers and likelihood of one being born. From what he could tell, a werewolf could literally be born into any Water Tribe family, it didn't matter if one of the parents was a werewolf or even if there'd been one in their bloodline at all. In fact, two werewolves could easily have a non-werewolf child so he believed that being a werewolf wasn't tied to blood at all."

The woman nodded pensively, "That is indeed interesting, perhaps being born a werewolf has more to do with your spirit than with your bloodline."

"But that wasn't the most interesting part."

She looked at him in surprise, "Really?"

Sokka nodded, "Really, the most interesting part was that when he studied werewolf numbers throughout history he found that there are always three, never more and never less. Whenever one of the three died, a new werewolf would be born soon afterwards keeping the number at three. He thought it was to reflect the team of three from Amaruq's story, the warrior, the wolf and the waterbender."

Nujalik frowned, "Now that is strange but does make a degree of sense if the gift of being a werewolf is spiritual."

Sokka nodded, "Yeah but it got me thinking." He grinned, "If there are always three werewolves then that means that there's one other out in the world right now!"

He beamed at her but instead of being excited, she looked down sadly and his face fell, "Nujalik?"

She sighed, "Sokka, you're not the first werewolf I've trained."

His eyes widened and he stared in shock, "What!?"

She sighed once more, "Years ago, a boy your age came to me from the Northern Water Tribe, he'd fled his home in fear because he believed himself to be a monster. Like me, he was a werewolf and he'd come searching for a way to deal with it."

She smiled slightly, "I was so happy when I met Akhlut, for the first time in my life I'd found someone like me who had my abilities. Without hesitation, I offered to train him, I'd discovered the tale of Amaruq and had concluded that my wolf form was a gift and I'd learned how to use that gift. I wanted to show him what I'd learned and over the period that followed Akhlut and I trained together, much like the way we've been doing."

Her smile faded, "But Akhlut bore a long-standing hatred of the Fire Nation. Like many, he'd lost his family in one of their attacks on the North Pole, I discovered later that when it happened his rage unleashed his wolf form and he butchered the entire Fire Nation squad that had been in the attack. His fear of his abilities had outweighed his hatred of the Fire Nation but as I trained him, that fear diminished. Now at peace with his wolf form, his hatred grew and he had the strength to wreak revenge."

She closed her eyes, "Many times he suggested that we push an attack upon the Fire Nation but I continually refused. I believe that we werewolves should be involved in the war but Akhlut wanted total annihilation of the Fire Nation and that is not an option anyone should take. No matter what harm they do to us we should not fall to their level nor let war harden our hearts to them, that is something all warriors, be they benders, non-benders or werewolves, should hold on to."

Her head fell lower, "Despite my arguments, Akhlut would not let his desires be and in the end, he struck out on his own. I tracked him down but I was always too late, I don't know how many people he butchered but any Fire Nation people that crossed his path did not survive. Eventually I caught up to him but he was too far gone, his bloodlust had consumed him and there was no going back, so I tried to end it there."

A tear ran down her face, "The fight was long and brutal, I still bear many scars from it, but we were too evenly matched, it took us over the edge of a cliff into a deep river and I lost Akhlut in the waters, I barely lived through it."

She wiped her tears away and opened her eyes, fixing them on the horizon, "I can't say for certain but I'm sure he survived, I couldn't find his trail after our fight and I've heard nothing of him since but I know he's out there."

She fixed Sokka with her gaze, "Sokka, I know you are set on helping the Avatar end the war but I need you to remember this. As a werewolf, you have a massive amount of strength, you cannot let yourself forget the importance of life in that fact. No matter what they do, do not forget that the Fire Nation people are human as well, do not let yourself be consumed the way Akhlut was."

She gripped his arm, "And if you meet him out there, be very careful."

* * *

The day following the revelation of her previous pupil, Nujalik stood with Sokka outside the cave she called home.

The boy had decided that it was time for him to move on, he'd promised Aang and Katara that he'd meet them in Ba Sing Se by the end of Spring. This was made more important by the knowledge of the eclipse he'd found, they would need the Earth King's armies to launch an invasion and help Aang end the war. Time was moving and the end of Spring was approaching giving him a very real time limit.

The older werewolf patted him on the shoulder and smiled, "You've grown a lot during your time here and I know that you'll become great, perhaps as great as Amaruq himself." She looked down, "One time I might've joined you in your quest to help the Avatar end this war but I'm now too old, my fighting days are behind me."

Sokka smiled, "You've helped me learn how to use my gifts and turn them to a helpful purpose, I don't think anyone else could've done that."

She nodded, "Thank you Sokka. May the Moon Spirit forever grant you strength and the brotherhood of the pack."

The boy bowed, "Thank you, Alpha Nujalik."

He smiled once more before smoothly shifting into his wolf form and bounding northwards across the desert and towards Ba Sing Se.

* * *

 _ **PS-So now we know the identities of all the werewolves and Sokka is heading for Ba Sing Se. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	23. Pass

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and apologies for the long gap since the last update. This chapter is possibly one of the longest I've ever written as Sokka heads for Ba Sing Se. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Pass**

With directions supplied by Nujalik, his own navigational skills and the greater speed and stamina granted by his wolf form, Sokka found his way northwards out of the Si Wong Desert easily.

He was aiming for the Serpent's Pass, a narrow, natural bridge to the northern part of the Earth Kingdom and about the only way to reach Ba Sing Se by foot. He'd considered heading to the coast and catching a ship but it could take more time than he had so he kept on towards the pass.

He'd just stopped at a deep pool with a waterfall for a quick refreshing break when he was approached by a young couple clearly expecting a child.

The young man waved cheerily, "Hello there, fellow refugee!"

Sokka smiled back, "Hello."

The couple approached as the man introduced them, "I'm Than and this is my wife Ying, we're hoping to reach Ba Sing Se before our baby arrives."

Sokka greeted them both as he answered, "I'm heading that way too, my name's Sokka."

Than frowned thoughtfully, "Sokka…I've heard that name before." His face lit up in recognition, "Oh yes, one of the Avatar's companions was called Sokka."

The teen rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah…that would be me, though I split up with Aang and Katara a while ago, I promised to meet up with them in Ba Sing Se." He grinned, "I guess we'll be travelling through the Serpent's Pass together."

Both Than and Ying blanched with fright and the woman spoke, "The Serpent's Pass!? Only the truly desperate take that route."

Than nodded in agreement then offered a suggestion, "You should come with us to Full Moon Bay. Ferries take refugees across the lake. It's the fastest way to Ba Sing Se."

Ying smiled, "And its hidden, so the Fire Nation can't find it."

Sokka grinned at this stroke of luck, a quicker way to the city and apparently far safer than his original route, he bowed thankfully, "Thank you."

* * *

Full Moon Bay was indeed well hidden.

Its entrance was through several tunnels spread along the lake shore, each one well-hidden and guarded by Earthbenders. The number of tunnels meant that there wasn't a queue of refugees outside any of them keeping them secret, the tunnels joined underground to a single one that exited out into the cavern that held the ferries. This one was also guarded by Earthbenders and they sealed up the entrance each time a set of people came through.

The cavern was full of refugees, many of whom seemed to be camping, and it was clear that most had fled with only the clothes on their backs. Looking around Sokka found himself stupidly surprised by how many there were, "I never realised just how many people have been driven from their homes by the war."

Than spoke solemnly, "We're all looking for a better life. Safe, behind the walls of Ba Sing Se."

The couple headed off to where Ying could rest for a moment as Sokka wound his way through the crowds to where it looked like people were queuing for tickets. After a long wait, the teen finally got to the front of the queue (after a strangely familiar man had his cabbages destroyed by one of the security platypus-bears) feeling slightly intimidated by the bad-tempered woman manning the ticket booth, "Um, one ticket to Ba Sing Se please."

"Passport."

Sokka frowned in confusion, "I need a passport?"

She slammed her hand down, "All passengers for the ferries need a passport. No passport, no tickets!" She leaned forward menacingly, "Do I need to call security?"

The teen hastily backed off, "No, its fine. I just didn't realise I needed a passport."

She nodded in satisfaction before yelling out aggressively, "Next!"

Leaving the booths behind, Sokka made his way back through the crowd and towards the exit, resigned to likely having to use the Serpent's Pass anyway. Suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him round, it was one of the female security guards and she spoke firmly, "Where do you think you're going?"

Feeling intimidated once again, Sokka hesitantly answered, "Is there a problem?"

She leaned forward, "Yeah, I've got a problem with you." She prodded him hard in the chest, "I've seen your type before, probably sarcastic, think you're hilarious, and let me guess, you're travelling with the Avatar."

The teen narrowed his eyes, something about this girl seemed really familiar, "Do I know you?"

"You mean you don't remember." She yanked him towards her, "Maybe you remember this."

She gently kissed his cheek and Sokka instantly knew who she was, "Suki!"

She grinned and hugged him, "Sokka, it's good to see you!"

The began walking together, eagerly catching up, "What are you doing here Suki? And what's happened to your make-up and the Kyoshi Warrior outfit?"

She smiled, "When you guys left Kyoshi Island we wanted to do more to help others involved in the war, we escorted some refugees here and have stayed as security. The crabby old lady makes all the guards wear this uniform." She frowned slightly, "And what about you? Is Katara and Aang around as well and if so, why do you need the ferry when you've got Appa to fly you over the lake?"

Sokka shrugged, "After we left the North Pole, I had to split from the others for a while. I had some things to take care of while Aang learnt Earthbending and I promised to meet them in Ba Sing Se."

Suki eyed his clothing, "You also acquired a new outfit as well I see, sleeveless too."

The boy casually flexed his muscles, "Well, you know, been working out quite a bit recently."

The girl laughed, "Was that part of the 'things you had to take off'?"

Sokka shuffled uncomfortably but was spared answering by Than and Ying hurrying towards them, "Sokka, you have to help us!"

Ying spoke desperately, "Someone took all of our belongings. Our passports, our tickets. Everything's gone!"

Sokka's mind began running rapidly, analysing the situation. The thief would be long gone so finding him/her was out, he could try convincing the old lady that ran the place to let them on the ferry but it was very unlikely she'd listen to him. In all honesty, there was only one option left and he was heading that direction anyway. He had the strength to defend the couple and it was probably the quickest way to get them to Ba Sing Se before Ying gave birth.

The boy nodded decisively, "Don't worry, I'll get you through the Serpent's Pass myself."

* * *

They'd left Full Moon Bay behind and now stood before the archway that marked the end of the narrow, steep peaks that were the Serpent's Pass.

It was surprisingly straight considering its name and Sokka frowned at it, "This is the Serpent's Pass? I thought it would be more windy, you know, like a serpent. I guess they misnamed it."

Suki eyed the pass thoughtfully as Than and Ying approached the archway. Sokka had initially been against Suki coming but she was a trained and skilled warrior, she would be invaluable company even if he found himself constantly worried for her safety. As such she'd joined them, complete with Kyoshi Warrior dress and make-up.

Ying had been reading some writing on the archway and she gasped, "Look at this writing, how awful."

Sokka joined the couple, "What does it say?"

Suki read it out, "Abandon hope."

Ying buried her face into her husband's chest, "How could we abandon hope? It's all we have."

Sokka stood confidently forward, "Then don't abandon it. Hope brought you this far and it'll get you through the pass as well. We just need to keep pushing forward."

He led them through the arch.

* * *

The actual path was very narrow and treacherous, it wound its way along the edge of the steep cliffs and a misstep was clearly going to be fatal.

They slowly made their way along, Sokka leading them as Suki came up the rear, the boy kept the others informed of the path ahead and they made their way along with little incident. Suki spoke about the situation on the lake the pass divided as they travelled, "The Fire Nation control the western lake. Rumour has it they're working on something big on the other side, and they don't want anyone to find out what it is."

Just as she finished speaking, a Fire Nation ship appeared in the distance, it patrolled alongside the pass and everyone watched it nervously. Suddenly, the path crumbled beneath Than and he started to fall. Like lightning, Sokka shot back and grabbed the man, hauling him back onto the safety of the pass.

"I'm okay!"

Just as the words left Than's mouth, a catapulted boulder smashed into the path behind them.

"They've spotted us! Let's go, let's go!"

They hurried as fast as they could as the ship fired another boulder, it struck the cliff face above them causing a shower of rocks to hurtle down towards Suki. Within seconds, Sokka was there and yanked her out of their path. They just missed and he rapidly pulled her along the path, "Suki, are you okay? You have to be more careful! C'mon!"

They hurried on and soon the path took them around the other side of the peaks and out of the ship's range.

* * *

Sunset found them at a broader section of the path and they decided to camp there for the night.

Suki had managed to get a fire going and they'd made a fairly decent meal out of their supplies, Sokka glanced around the camp, checking that everything was alright. Than was massaging his wife's sore feet and the boy smiled at the strong but simple bond they had, his own bedroll was laid out ready to use, the campfire was burning down safely and Suki was just putting her own bedroll out…wait! She couldn't put it there!"

Sokka shot over to where she was placing it near (dangerously so) to the cliff, "Suki, you shouldn't sleep there." He grabbed the bedroll and began moving it, "Who knows how stable this ledge is? It could give way at any moment."

"Sokka, I'm fine. Stop worrying!"

He placed the bedroll nearer the centre of the camp, "You're right, you're right. You're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself…wait!" He pushed her back protectively before realising that everything was fine, "Oh, never mind. I thought I saw a spider, but you're fine."

Noticing her look of mixed embarrassment, frustration and concern, he quickly hurried away.

* * *

Later, he sat a bit away from the camp staring up at the bright moon which graced the sky.

His meeting with Suki had brought back a lot of memories of Yue, including when he lost her. He knew he was being far too overprotective but he couldn't bear to lose Suki as well, they had only met for a couple of days on Kyoshi Island but he'd made a strong connection with her (once he'd humbled himself a bit), he didn't want to risk anything.

There were steps behind him and Suki quietly sat beside him, speaking softly, "It's a beautiful moon."

Sokka smiled slightly, "Yeah, it really is."

There was silence and Suki sat slightly closer to him, "Look, I know you're just trying to help, but I can take care of myself."

"I know you can."

"Then why are you acting so overprotective?"

Sokka looked down, he really didn't want to go into this but he couldn't just not answer, he went for very simplified, "At the North Pole something…happened. I couldn't protect someone I cared about because I wasn't in control. I don't want it to happen again."

She moved a little closer, "Is that the reason you separated from Aang and Katara?"

"Partly." He stared up at the moon once more, "I knew so little about myself, what I could do and who I was. I needed to find out and to do that I had to separate from the others and in the end, I found my answers."

She leaned near him, "Sokka, I know we only met for a few days but we became close, you can trust me with things, okay."

He sighed, "I know but, this…thing, I've kept it secret for a long time. I don't think I can just talk about it with someone, even a close friend."

He stood and turned back towards his bedroll, he paused, "Goodnight Suki, and…thank you."

* * *

The next day they made good progress along the Serpent's Pass.

They travelled without incident and there were no Fire Nation ships in sight, the one they'd been attacked by possibly believed it had killed them. It seemed as if they would finish the treacherous trip with ease until the path sloped steeply down to disappear under the water, re-emerging several hundred yards away.

They stood in shock, fearing that they'd have to trek all the way back, when luck seemed to smile upon them. Caught upon some rocks at the waterline, was a bundle of large planks of wood, possibly from a ship that came too close to the rocky peaks of the pass.

Sokka determinedly scrambled down to the planks and carefully guided them around to where the path vanished. With Suki and Than's help, he arranged them into a rough raft and lashed them together with rope from his pack. The end result was hardly amazing but it would last long enough to get them to the other side. They helped Ying aboard along with her husband and, using smaller planks, he and Suki started paddling towards where the path reappeared.

It was slow going but the raft floated, they had got halfway across when the pass once again threw danger at them.

A massive, long, spiny dorsal fin silently emerged from the lake and circled them, quickly, they stopped paddling and Sokka signalled everyone to remain still and silent. For ages, the fin circled and if they looked beneath the water, they could see the massive, long bulk of the beast that owned the fin. As quietly as it arrived, the monster disappeared and they waited, nothing happened and Sokka gently sighed, "I think it's gone."

Then, the water exploded as the monster's massive head shot out of the water and towered over them. There was no time to discuss and Sokka flung his paddle at Than, snapping out orders, "Suki, Than, paddle as quickly as you can towards the other shore, I'll keep it busy!"

He didn't bother listening to any arguments, instead he focused all his strength on his legs and leapt towards the Sea Serpent.

His boosted strength catapulted him through the air and he braced for impact, he knew he'd have to go all out and he wasted no time in fully shifting. By the time he landed upon the monster's neck, he was in his wolf form and attacking.

He sunk his claws directly into its scales and the serpent roared in pain and thrashed about, Sokka rapidly began scaling its body, causing more wounds, in a bid to reach the head. The serpent slammed its body upon the lake, aiming to dislodge its attacker, and he slipped down the body. He was far enough down that the creature could snap at him with its jaws and he climbed quickly to avoid the maw of razor sharp teeth, once again he climbed towards the head but the serpent thrashed violently making it very difficult.

By this time, the creature had completely forgotten about the raft and Suki and Than valiantly paddled towards the shore to escape the fight. They fought massive waves that had been kicked up by the beast's movements and several times the whole thing nearly capsized.

Sokka had now reached the beast's head and he was slashing at the thick skull making the serpent wild with anger and panic, never before had another creature inflicted so much damage to it and proven so hard to get rid of. It thrashed and roared, rampaging wildly around, smashing itself off the peaks and lake surface heedlessly. It eventually realised that it could remove its attacker by diving and Sokka noticed what it was about to do, with a growl, he stabbed his claws in the beast's forehead, right between the two massive eyes. The serpent reared with a screech and Sokka used both the height and momentum of the movement to leap off its head towards the shore where the raft had finally landed. The others watched as he soared through the air and landed with a huge splash not far from the shore. The serpent turned tail and dived, deciding that the pitiful morsels were not worth it, and disappeared, likely to lick its wounds.

For many long moments, the others stared at where Sokka had dived in silence, each wondering what was going to happen next. Slowly, a form rose above the water and climbed out of the lake and onto the path. Sokka stood before them in full wolf form and lifted his head to release a victory howl to the sky. Then, his wolf form flowed away leaving his familiar human one standing there.

He looked away fearfully, not knowing how they were going to react, and silence reigned as everyone got to grips with what had just happened. Then, Ying slowly approached him and stopped only a couple of steps away, "Sokka."

The boy looked up nervously and she smiled.

"Thank you."

* * *

They had finally done it.

They had got through the Serpent's Pass and Sokka had used the journey to explain to them exactly what he was, though shocked, Than and Ying had been immensely grateful to him and the teen couldn't express how much their confidence in him meant. Two people who were effectively complete strangers had seen his transformation but hadn't driven him away in fear, it gave him assurance that he did indeed have a gift. On top of that, Suki even seemed to be impressed. She'd commended him on his quick action to save them and had actually been asking for more information on werewolves in genuine interest.

Of course, just when they thought they were in the clear, Ying's baby had decided to come right at that moment.

Sokka would admit that he had panicked then, battling a massive Sea Serpent? No problem. Baby being born? Time to panic! Fortunately, Suki took control, she had a little experience with helping to deliver babies from Kyoshi Island and she fell back on her small amount of knowledge. Hardly an ideal situation but they all persevered and Ying delivered a healthy baby girl.

She needed to rest afterwards and it wasn't until the next morning that they could start the final leg of the journey.

* * *

Sokka stood confidently and announced happily, "We made it through the Serpent's Pass! Now on to Ba Sing Se!"

Suki suddenly gasped, "Sokka wait!" He looked at her in confusion and she explained hurriedly, "With everything that's happened the last two days, I forgot to tell you about some new intel we got just before we left."

He frowned, "What intel?"

"We've received reports that a group of Southern Water Tribe warriors are camped at Chameleon Bay and are preventing Fire Nation ships from using its river mouth to reach Ba Sing Se."

Sokka grabbed her hands, "Do you know who's leading them?"

She nodded, "Yes, apparently, it's a man called Hakoda."

Sokka let go and stepped back slightly, "Dad…"

He knew where Chameleon Bay was and he could reach it easily but he also wanted to make sure that Than and Ying made it to Ba Sing Se, plus he was supposed to meet Aang and Katara there, he was torn on what to do.

Suki held his hand and smiled, "Sokka, if you want to go there then I'll guide Than and Ying to the city. You've told me how long it's been since you've seen your father, you should go and meet him. Aang and Katara will understand."

He inwardly debated with himself before he finally smiled, "Thank you Suki."

She nodded and let his hands go, she made to turn away but Sokka suddenly pulled her over and kissed her cheek. She stared at him in surprise and he just smiled and went to bid farewell to Than and Ying.

* * *

Soon, he was back in his wolf form and bounding away towards Chameleon Bay. He stopped and turned around to see Suki, Than and Ying waving goodbye, in Ying's arms was her new-born daughter and he grinned at the apt name the girl had been given.

Hope.

* * *

 _ **PS-So a retelling of the Serpent's Pass with some obvious differences and Sokka is taking a brief diversion in his journey. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	24. Before the Tribe

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to the first update of 2017. I know it's been a while since I last updated this but with holiday season, other stories and other things I've not managed to get around to it. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Before the Tribe**

Sokka bounded along, eagerness lending even more speed to his wolf form.

He'd left the Serpent's Pass far behind and pushed westwards along the lake shore towards the coast, it wasn't long before the lake became a river indicating that he was getting closer. As he travelled, he thought time and time again about what he was going to say to his dad.

He hadn't seen him in two years and a lot had changed in that time, his father had always known about Sokka's gift and had seen the werewolf more times than anyone else, he'd seen its ferocity and power several times and last he knew, Sokka had no control over his wolf form. Now, Sokka had accepted what he was and could control and use his gift with ease, he had more strength at his disposal than five warriors and he wasn't even a full adult yet. He'd grown and matured so much in such a short time and he worried that his father would not understand that his wolf form was not something to be concerned about any more.

Sokka picked up the scents and sounds of the camp long before he could see it, they were things that he'd missed so much and he'd been desperate to encounter them again. Just before it came into view, he back-shifted and took a moment to collect himself before walking on towards the camp.

He couldn't stop himself looking nervous as he approached but he somehow kept moving forward, warriors spotted him coming and they left off what they were doing to stare at him in surprise. As he walked further in, one of the more experienced men intercepted and stood before him, they regarded each other for a moment then both grinned and clasped each other's forearm in greeting.

"Sokka, good to see you."

The other warriors flocked around them, one patted Sokka on the head and he couldn't help but stand straighter to show how much taller he was now, the others clapped his shoulders and made friendly comments.

"You're so much taller."

"And stronger."

"And those clothes of yours, aren't they from the Northern Tribe?"

As if given some silent command, the throng separated to give the boy a clear view of the large command tent, where his father would be. One or two gently pushed Sokka that direction and he strode towards the entrance, he paused briefly to take a breath before opening the tent flaps and stepping inside.

It was laid out exactly as he expected, a table bearing a world map graced the centre of the space while senior tribesmen gathered around it. Most of them looked up and smiled broadly at Sokka's arrival but the boy's focus was entirely on the man sat at the table's head staring intently at the map.

Chief Hakoda, Sokka's father.

Bato was beside the chief and he spoke quietly to the man, "Hakoda."

The chief looked up and spotted his son, his look of shock quickly changed to one of joy and he smiled, "Sokka."

Sokka smiled back, "Hi Dad."

Within moments, his dad was up and around the table and, for the first time in two years, Sokka hugged his father.

* * *

It was quite some time later that Sokka finally got to spend some time alone with his dad.

All the warriors had wanted to hear everything that had been going on in their absence as well as the adventures Sokka had been having. Even with the teen giving a hastened version, it took some time to get through it all and they all wanted to hear more. In the end, Hakoda brought a halt to the storytelling session, reminding his men of tasks they needed to attend to.

Obediently, the warriors dispersed and left father and son alone and Hakoda sat across from his son and smiled, "I can still barely believe you're here." He looked concerned briefly, "And Katara?"

Sokka grinned, "Katara's doing just fine Dad. She should be with Aang right now helping him stay on top of his waterbending, she got trained by one of the best masters in the North Pole and mastered his teachings really quickly, she even knows how to heal with her bending."

His father smiled with relief, "That's good to hear, I knew that she'd be a powerful bender when she got a master to teach her."

They sat in comfortable silence until Hakoda frowned and looked at his son seriously, "Sokka." He paused then continued, "Your burden…Bato told me you were looking for answers. Did you find any?"

Sokka smiled broadly at him, "Yeah Dad, I did." His father leaned forward, wanting to know more and the boy did his best to explain it, "I found out that what I thought was a curse is actually a gift, a gift that I now know how to control. It's actually an important part of our people's tradition and culture which had been lost for so long and I know who I am." He nodded confidently, "I'm one of the world's only three werewolves and that's actually something I've learned to be proud of."

Hakoda stared at him in shock, not knowing what to say or how to answer. When he left, Sokka had been scared of the beast he became, he feared anyone else finding out about it and what it would do if it was somehow released at the wrong time. Now, Sokka sat before him saying he understood what he was now and that he was proud to be it, he had grown so much in two years.

For his part, Sokka understood his dad's shock, he knew his beast side better than anyone, for years he'd been the only one privy to the knowledge of his son's other form and he'd been Sokka's main support as he struggled to live with what he considered a curse. However, Sokka wasn't quite finished yet, he had one more thing he felt he had to do.

The boy's face went deadly serious as he continued speaking, "That's also the reason why I want to take this chance and show all our tribe's warriors that I'm a werewolf."

His father nearly collapsed in surprise at his son's intention and this was clear as he answered, "What!? Are you sure you want to show all the warriors!?"

Sokka nodded determinedly, "Yes." He explained calmly, "In a few weeks, a solar eclipse is going to occur that'll stop the Fire Nation from firebending. That's the day when Aang can defeat the Firelord and end this war once and for all but we'll need the help of the Earth Kingdom forces and our own warriors." He looked down, "I know that I have to help Aang and everyone else win this and the best way for me to do that is as a werewolf. If I'm going to be using my gift, then my allies deserve to know what I can do. The only way I can show people that a werewolf isn't some monster is by being open with them about what I am." He looked up at his father once more, resolve clear in his eyes, "I need to show them dad, they all deserve to know."

Hakoda was stunned at the huge change in his son, he'd spoken with such conviction, such determination, he couldn't help but believe his words. As a father, he greatly feared for the consequences that could occur because of this, Sokka was willingly risking the rejection he'd been scared of for so long because he believed that showing them all what he was would help the world accept it.

Hakoda stared at his son for several long moments, going over everything he'd just been told and knew. Then, he closed his eyes and gave a small smile, "Sokka, in just the short time we've spent together, it's become clear that you have grown and matured so much in the last two years." He opened his eyes, "I have always been proud of you and now I am even more proud of the man you've become."

He stood and held out an arm to Sokka, the teen grabbed it and his father hauled him to his feet and held his grip on his son's forearm, "I'll gather the men."

He smiled and pulled Sokka into a hug which the boy eagerly accepted, "Thanks Dad."

* * *

As the warriors all gathered outside the command tent, Sokka stood to one side practically shaking with nerves.

Though it was his idea and decision to reveal his wolf form to all of them, it still scared him. All the other times he'd revealed it to other people it had been either been unintentional or in the middle of a crisis, this would be the first time he would deliberately stand before a group of people and show them what he was. Though he was now more than happy with being a werewolf, the rest of the world may not be accepting, but he firmly believed that only openness could help change their minds.

With everyone present, Hakoda stood to address them all, "Men, as you know, my son has joined us in our continued fight to protect our tribe and allies. He has brought with him vital information of an upcoming solar eclipse that will prevent the Fire Nation from using their firebending. He is planning to bring this information to the Earth King in order to get the support of his forces in an invasion of the Fire Nation to end this war but before that, he has to tell you something that he believes you all deserve to know."

Sokka's father looked his way and gave him a reassuring nod and smile, the teen took a deep, calming breath and strode out and faced the warriors of his tribe, many of whom he knew well.

He took another breath and spoke, "For as long as I can remember I've carried a burden that I felt I could never share with anyone else, I believed myself to be cursed and hid it from everyone. One of the reasons I left the South Pole to travel with the Avatar was to find answers to my burden, to understand what it was. As I travelled I eventually found what I was looking for and now I feel ready to accept what I am." He paused briefly, uncomfortable with what he was mentioning next, but quickly continued, "I'm sure you've all heard about the battle at the North Pole and the wolf that appeared before the Avatar pushed the invasion back and I can tell you that the wolf wasn't some other spirit or a monster, but a werewolf."

Sokka had reached the crux of his reveal and he summoned his courage to pass the point of no return.

"And that werewolf is me."

The moment he finished speaking, he shifted and his full wolf form was revealed right before the eyes of all the men of his tribe.

There were gasps of shock as he changed, several of the men stepped back and even Hakoda, who'd seen his transformations before, twitched in surprise. Sokka had crouched slightly as he shifted and he now straightened up and stood upright before his tribe. He gazed around at their faces, gauging their reactions and hoping that they would accept him for what he was.

For agonisingly long moments, people did little but stare at him until Bato took a tentative step towards him. Sokka looked at him but waited for the warrior to come to him, this was a critical moment that could sway everyone and he did not want to ruin it. Bato took more steps until he was directly in front of the teen and Sokka couldn't help but notice how he was actually taller than everyone else in his wolf form. The senior warrior looked up at his face and spoke carefully, "Sokka?"

Sokka let a smile onto his face and held out his forearm, Bato stared a little longer then returned the smile and grabbed the offered arm, his arm looking small against the ridiculous muscles of a werewolf.

At once, the men gave a mighty cheer, declaring their acceptance of their tribe's werewolf. They swarmed around Sokka, offering their own arms for a warrior's greeting and showing their awe at his wolf form's powerful body. They patted his back and some carefully touched the deadly claws, shaking their heads in amazement at how sharp they were.

Through it all, Sokka couldn't stop grinning. His tribe's warriors hadn't just accepted him as one of them but they'd also accepted him being a werewolf, his relief and joy had no comparison and he drank in all the attention, glad that his decision had indeed been the right one.

Suddenly, his dad was at his side and the man looked up at him proudly, "Sokka."

Sokka looked down and Hakoda grinned, "Show us what you've got."

The teen nodded and all the warriors stepped back, eager to see a werewolf's abilities. Sokka crouched and then leapt right over their heads, they gazed open-mouthed as he landed on all fours and shot off towards the ships. At the water's edge, he leapt once more towards one of the ships, he latched onto its side and smoothly swung himself onto the deck before scaling the mast within moments. He launched himself at the next ship and landed directly on top of the bow where he jumped back to shore again in one movement, he shot off along the sand and bounded up the cliffs that ran behind the camp. He descended as quickly and pounded back into the camp, he grabbed a mighty boulder in its very centre and lifted the whole thing. With a roar, he flung the boulder out of the camp where it landed with a mighty thud, he'd started running the moment he'd flung it and was beside it right after it landed, he jumped on top and stood proudly and howled to the sky as the warriors cheered and yelled their delight at his powerful show.

He'd most definitely been accepted.

* * *

 _ **PS-And now the tribe all know. Next chapter, Sokka heads for Ba Sing Se once more. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	25. Ba Sing Se

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to the first chapter in far, far too long. My only excuse for such a long wait is that life happens and pulls you away or distracts you from things. Also, plot ideas for other stories hit and you end up writing other things. However, I am now back with Sokka's long-awaited arrival in Ba Sing Se with comes with a good dose of action in it. Thank you for your continued support and I apologise for the huge gap since the last update. I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Ba Sing Se**

Sokka's powerful legs ate up the miles as he rapidly retraced his steps.

After his reveal to his tribe's warriors, he'd stayed at their camp for a few days so they could come up with the beginnings of an invasion plan. The inclusion of the Earth Kingdom's forces would greatly bolster their numbers, that and the effect of the eclipse would vastly increase their chances of victory. Aang should've also have mastered Earthbending by the time it came, making him more than a match for the Firelord. They all agreed that if the long war was to finally end in the best way possible, the Avatar had to be the one to do it.

While Sokka joined the others in Ba Sing Se, his father and the other warriors would continue to prevent Fire Nation ships from reaching the city, they'd meet up again once the invasion plans were underway.

His wolf form made travel much faster and easier and it was in a relatively short time that he approached the city's outer wall. He grinned at the sight but it quickly faltered when he noticed something that really wasn't supposed to be there.

A gaping hole in the wall.

His mind whirled, had the Fire Nation breached the wall? Had they reached the city? Was Aang and Katara okay? He sped up, determined to discover what had happened.

His senses told him that there was no one around at the breach itself and he assumed that the Fire Nation (assuming it was them) would've moved onto the city. Ba Sing Se itself was actually some distance from the outer wall so once past the outer wall, any invaders would have to travel some way before reaching it.

This also meant he had a fair bit of running to do.

* * *

As Fire Nation soldiers patrolled the streets, they failed to notice the shadow traversing the roofs above them.

Having back-shifted into his human form, Sokka channelled his werewolf strength as leapt from building to building. His normal body was smaller and lighter than his wolf one, so it lent itself better to stealth and that was his aim, werewolf or not, he couldn't take an entire occupation force on alone and survive. He was heading directly towards the city centre, where the palace could be seen in the distance, knowing that if Aang and Katara would be anywhere, it would be there, either still holding out or imprisoned.

A familiar set of scents caught his attention (even as a human, his nose was keen) and he peered over the edge of the roof into the street below. The street was empty of people, likely due to an enforced curfew, but most of the houses had their shutters open, allowing him to look inside. In one just across the street he spotted a trio of familiar faces.

Than, Ying and their baby, Hope.

Lightly dropping down, he shot silently over to the house, hoping that they might be able to give him some information as to what happened. Tapping lightly on one of the wooden shutters, he grinned in at them.

"Sokka!"

Than gaped at the teen but Ying hurriedly gestured him in, "Quickly, inside. Before a patrol comes by!"

He scrambled quickly through the window and glanced around the house as Than closed the shutters behind him, it was basically one room that contained at least a dozen people, both young and old. Most were staring at him in bewilderment but there was one elderly lady who narrowed her eyes and then nodded knowingly.

Than ushered him to sit while Ying spoke as she nursed Hope, "You've come to Ba Sing Se at a terrible time Sokka, the Fire Nation are strengthening their hold over the city after they conquered us yesterday."

"What happened?"

Than held his family sadly, "The Dai Li turned against us. None of us know the full story but the Fire Nation princess somehow got them to capture both the Council of Five and the Earth King. They then went on to pull down the walls into the city, letting the Fire Nation in, it was over so swiftly."

"What about Aang and Katara!?"

Ying answered, "From what we've heard, your friends escaped with the Earth King." She looked away, "But the Fire Nation claim that the Avatar is dead."

Sokka froze.

Aang dead? It wasn't possible, there was no way that could've happened! He was the _Avatar_ for crying out loud, the most powerful bender around!

He shook his head, the Fire Nation were only claiming it had happened and until it was confirmed, he wouldn't give up.

"Do you know where they escaped to?"

Before anyone could answer, there was a hammering at the door.

"Open up in the name of the Fire Nation!"

Everyone shared looks of alarm and Than shoved him towards the back of the house, "Quickly Sokka, get out of sight!"

People hurriedly threw blankets and bags on him, making him look like a pile of belongings, as Than opened the door, "Yes sir?"

"That's him, that's the one!"

A shout came from beyond the door and a couple of soldiers barged in and grabbed Than, the man called out in bewilderment, "What's going on!?"

The officer in charge spoke in an almost bored tone, "We've received information saying that you know the identity of the werewolf seen at the North Pole and on the mountains between Gaoling and the Si Wong Desert. Princess Azula wishes to speak to you personally about it."

At these words, Sokka was about to break from hiding and attack but the elderly lady sat on him and whispered warningly, "Not now young one!"

Without further ceremony, Than was whisked away while those left could only watch. Only when they'd definitely gone did the lady get of Sokka, allowing him to get up. He glared up at her, "Why'd you do that, I could've stopped them!"

"And then you'd have revealed that we'd been hiding you and placed a target upon all of us, as well as alert the entire army to your presence."

At her answer, he looked away, knowing full well she was right. She then smiled, "However, there's nothing stopping you from going to rescue him from the palace, though we'll have to make arrangements for him to leave the city along with Ying and Hope. The resistance fighters will be more than happy to shelter them."

Sokka raised an eyebrow, "You seem to have this all planned out already."

Her smile grew, "But of course, my job is to help those targeted by the Fire Nation to escape the city. Those dolts would never suspect an old lady of any such thing." She clapped her hands decisively, "Now, it'll take some time for them to bring Than to their princess so let's plan."

* * *

Once again traversing rooftops, Sokka made his way through the upper ring towards the palace.

Ying and Hope were currently being smuggled through the streets of the city and he was on his way to rescue Than. Few people could get past the Fire Nation forces and the Dai Li to reach the palace itself but he could, he was to go in, rescue Than while making as big a ruckus as possible and then bring him to the rendezvous point to place him in the safety of the resistance. His rescue mission was also to serve as a distraction, attracting the attention of the Fire Nation making things easier for the resistance to move key people out of Ba Sing Se.

He'd found a way around many of the guards and infiltrated the palace walls, he wanted to find Than before he went all out, so he remained stealthy as he searched. Eventually, his search brought him to the rafters of a vast throne room which was where he found Than.

The man was kneeling on the floor before the throne, visibly shaking in fear. Around the room, at key positions, stood members of the Dai Li while two girls stood either side of the throne. Sat in the throne was Princess Azula herself.

At first glance, she appeared to be a beautiful young woman but Sokka could tell something was off about her even if he didn't already know she was the enemy. She gave off an aura of cunning and maliciousness that immediately put him on edge and something told him she would be a formidable opponent.

Now that he'd found Than, it was time to go wild.

Leaping down, he landed right behind one of the Dai Li agents and sent the man flying with a kick. Immediately, the others responded by launching their rock gloves at him but he agilely dodged them. Leaping about swiftly, he took out each agent one by one until it was just Azula and the other two girls left. The moody-looking, dark-haired girl charged him, launching several, lethal knives at him and he rushed forward, closing the gap. He swung his arms in a barrage of punches that she had to swiftly avoid but the brown-haired girl pranced into the fray and struck him with a series of swift jabs.

Suddenly, his limbs went dead and he collapsed to the floor in a heap, as the two girls backed off smugly, the princess descended from the throne towards him, "I admit, I'm impressed you handled my Dai Li agents so easily but how can a Water Tribe peasant even think he can handle me alone."

He looked up at her, "I hear you're looking for a werewolf?"

She frowned infinitesimally, "What is it to you?"

He grinned, "Surprise!"

With a growl, he fully shifted into wolf form, feeling instantly returning to his limbs, and surged upwards, batting Azula away with his paw. The princess managed to spin in the air and land nimbly on her feet but Sokka was already moving, he bounded over to the brown-haired girl and she was knocked out in seconds. He then rounded upon the moody girl and charged her, knocking aside her thrown weapons with ease, with another swipe, she was unconscious as well, leaving only Azula. However, the princess was skilled and she leapt acrobatically around him, launching deadly blue flames. He knew these were more powerful than regular Firebending flames so he darted and dodged, trying to get closer to his foe. She was trying equally as hard to keep her distance, knowing he had to be in close combat to do any actual damage. Suddenly, instead of flames, she released a bolt of lightning which Sokka barely avoided in time.

Since when could Firebenders throw lightning!?

She smirked and released another bolt, again, he only just avoided it but he'd watched the stance carefully. When she took it again, he saw it coming and easily avoided it, taking the opening provided to move in closer. Rapidly reaching her, he swiped with his paw, this time she narrowly avoided it and he kept pressing in with swipe after swipe, forcing her to focus on dodging instead of Firebending. She switched to actual martial arts and landed several hits that he barely noticed.

It was his turn to smirk.

She might be powerful bender and skilled fighter but his raw power allowed him to dominate in a close quarters fight like this. She was too close to Firebend without risking herself and her attacks, while perfect in a fight against a normal person, didn't have the strength to faze him. Her agility was the only thing keeping her in the fight but she wouldn't be able to keep it up for long, unlike him.

She suddenly switched tactics and swung her leg in an arching kick, aiming for his head. She was likely trying to distract him enough to leap away to where she could Firebend again but it was not to be.

Grabbing her leg with his paw, he gave her time for one look of surprise before he spun round and flung her bodily away from him, this time, she wasn't fully able to recover herself and she landed hard upon the stone floor, skidding uncontrollably for several feet.

He didn't stick around to continue the fight, he could hear the pounding of feet as reinforcements headed their way and he grabbed Than and bounded away, leaving them far behind.

* * *

Pounding through the streets of Ba Sing Se, Sokka headed directly for the rendezvous point.

His little fight fest at the palace had pulled away many patrols from their usual routes so it was easy for him to avoid being noticed as he fled. Soon, he spotted the meeting place in a tiny little ally in the lower ring. Ying and Hope were already there, along with the elderly lady from the house and three burly Earthbenders who were likely resistance members. The Earthbenders immediately went on guard as he appeared but Ying stood in front of them, "Wait! He's a friend."

Slowing to a halt before them, Sokka allowed Than to clamber down from where he'd been clinging to his back. As the man stood on shaky legs, Sokka quickly back-shifted and supported him.

While the Earthbenders gasped in shock, the old woman smiled, "Excellent work young one, the resistance will make sure this family is safe."

Pulling her husband into a hug, Ying smiled at him gratefully, "Thank you again Sokka. You've done so much for us, we'll never be able to repay you."

He just shrugged, "Don't worry about it." He glanced at the Earthbenders, "I'll try and create as much chaos as I can as I leave the city, you should be able to use it to get away safely."

With a quick bow, he fully-shifted and bounded off towards the outer wall, making sure to run through some Fire Nation patrols as he went.

* * *

Alone in her chambers in the palace, Azula sat thoughtfully.

She'd finally encountered the legendary werewolf that had played such a devastating role in the failure of the North Pole siege. It had taken considerable time and research to even find the term 'werewolf' and discovering its identity had been right up there with capturing the Avatar. Her father was no fool in thinking of it as a considerable threat and having faced the werewolf himself, she agreed.

She'd never admit it out loud but it had been a hard fight that had really pushed her skills. He moved faster and hit far harder than most opponents and he could easily take out skilled benders, even without his beast form. True, he largely had the element of surprise on his side but even when that advantage had faded, he'd still held his own against her and the fight had ended without a clear winner, though it had been dangerously close to a loss for her.

She then smiled and glanced at the bag she'd ripped from the werewolf's shoulders as he'd flung her away.

This fight may have been a near loss, but she possibly had the key to being the overall victor.

* * *

 _ **PS-So, Werewolf Sokka vs Azula, did the fight meet expectations? Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update again far sooner than I did this time.**_


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